Quick Facts

Fun Facts

• Shepard spent a grand total of 9 days and 57 minutes in space.
• He was the US delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from September to December 1971
• Shepard was the second human in space after Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
• During his original mission he travelled over 300 miles over 15 minutes
• Shepard died of Leukemia in 1998
• Shepard was married to Louise Brewer in 1945 and they had 3 daughter
• During the Second World War he served on the USS Cogswell in the Pacific Theater
• Shepard co-authored the book Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon (1994) with Deke Slayton