Alan B. Shepard, Jr.

I have been going through several websites to find out who my real hero is, when I realized he's right in front of me. He's the one who started it all, everything. My hero's name is Alan B. Shepard, Jr.

Alan B. Shepard, Jr.

Alan B. Shepard, Jr., was the first American to journey into space. On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone vehicle on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight--a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. Shepard made his second space flight as spacecraft commander on Apollo 14, January 31 - February 9, 1971.

Shepard was in private business in Houston, Texas, where he lived with his wife, Louise, and three daughters. He served as the president of the Mercury Seven Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides college science scholarships for deserving students, until his death in 1998. He is survived by his three daughters and six grandchildren.

Alan B. Shepard, Jr. is my hero because of his integrity and his academic achievements that allowed him to become a successful astronaut. Because of his achievements, he was the first American to go into outer space. What a wonderful life.

Alan was a brave, honorable man who knew the risks of going into space for the first time. Anything could have went wrong, but did that stop him? No. He pushed for more and more knowledge that he could feed to the world. And he succeeded. Because of him, there have been several missions to space, and there still are. There are now more and more things being put into text books for students to read, and learn, which will make our future as bright as ever...because of Alan. Thank you Alan B. Shepard, Jr. You are my hero.