Click the link and listen to this short video, only 2 minutes and 12 seconds, by the great Louie Prima and Keely Smith! it’s about Alan Shepard the first American astronaut hero.
On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced it’s first astronaut class, the Mercury 7. Front row, left to right: Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter; back row, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Image Credit: NASA
Alan B. Shepard Jr.
– A close-up image of Alan Shepard Jr., the first American Astronaut in space. This photo of Shepard was taken inside the Mercury Capsule at Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 5, 1961.
(I don’t want to leave out the brave Soviet Union, now Russia, Cosmonauts from the early days of space exploration. Just imagine how much courage it took to be shot into space! We now have space explorers from all over the world. Each and every one a HERO!)
This post is also about Albert I the first monkey astronaut hero in 1948!
On June 11, 1948, Albert I – the first monkey astronaut – launched into space on a V-2 Blossom III rocket from White Sands Proving Ground, a NASA space station in New Mexico. The first of four monkeys (Albert I-IV) launched into space between June 1948 and December 1949, Albert was the original monkey pioneer.
Albert’s journey would begin a fruitful period of research for NASA which would culminate in Neil Armstrong’s momentous journey to the moon. One small step for man, one giant leap for primatekind. Sadly, a lack of fanfare resulted in Albert I remaining an unsung hero of animal astronauts.
Apart from a few indisputable facts, Albert’s mission is clouded in mystery. Some investigators actually claim that the details of the mission had been purposefully buried to obscure unqualified reports of flying saucers, although NASA veraciously dismisses any such allegations as balderdash.
Early in the morning of June 11, 1948, Albert, a nine-pound rhesus monkey was sealed inside his personal capsule atop a V-2 rocket to make the journey heavenward. The entire operation became affectionately known as the Albert (I) Project, a testament to Albert’s pioneering spirit.
Flight Time: 6 Minutes
Apogee: 39 Miles
I have several heroes, not least among them is Mark Twain, Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.
I hope you enjoyed my magic carpet ride!
Your new best friend,
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