On this day in history, Alan Shepard launched aboard a Mercury capsule to become the first American in space. This 15-minute suborbital journey in 1961 led to big plans for human spaceflight, including the goal to send humans to the Moon. https://go.nasa.gov/3eiRcCO | NASA's Johnson Space Center

“What a beautiful view.” Alan Shepard became the first American in space 60 years ago today (May 5, 1961) when Freedom 7 lifted off atop a Mercury-Redstone rocket. The 15-minute flight gave us valuable data on how humans respond to microgravity, and set us on a path toward having a continuous human presence in space with the construction of the International Space Station decades later: youtu.be/YMptAi6Z8io | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

#OTD in 1961, Naval aviator Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space. Graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944, Shepard became one of the Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959. He would walk on the moon in 1971 as commander of Apollo 14. #NationalAstronautDay | U.S. Naval Institute