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Alan Shepard: 1st American in Space

John Glenn Gives Alan Shepard the OK Before Liftoff

John Glenn Gives Alan Shepard the OK Before Liftoff

John Glenn gestures to Alan Shepard (in helmet) before launch of Freedom 7, at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 1961. Shepard was about to become the first American in space.

In this photo: John Glenn, Alan B. Shepard

Photo: Ralph Morse/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

May 05, 1961