KIDS TRIVIA

Detailed explanation-1: -On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American-and the second man-to travel in space when he launched a 15-minute, sub-orbital flight aboard NASA’s Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7. (Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had completed one orbit of the Earth on April 12, about three weeks earlier.)

Detailed explanation-2: -Alan Shepard piloted his Freedom 7 Mercury capsule for a 15 minute suborbital flight with no communication glitches. He was the first person from the U.S. and the second person to enter space.

Detailed explanation-3: -The seven original American astronauts were Navy Lieutenant Scott Carpenter, Air Force Captain Gordon Cooper, Marine Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn, Air Force Captain Gus Grissom, Navy Lieutenant Commander Wally Schirra, Navy Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard, and Air Force Captain Deke Slayton.