Who became the first American to travel into space in 1961?
John Glenn
Buzz Aldrin
Alan Shepard
Neil Armstrong
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard made history as the first American to travel into space. Aboard the Mercury-Redstone 3, famously named Freedom 7, Shepard’s suborbital flight lasted just over 15 minutes but marked a pivotal moment in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. His spacecraft reached an altitude of 116 miles and a top speed of 5,134 mph before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Shepard’s mission demonstrated the feasibility of human spaceflight for NASA and was a morale booster for the U.S., coming less than a month after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
Answer: Buzz Aldrin