After the Soviet Union launched "Sputnik," the first artificial satellite, the United States decided to start a space program because they didn't want to be beaten by the communists.

The first U.S. spaceship was a cone-shaped one-man capsule with a cylinder mounted on top. It was 6 ft., 10 in. long, and 6 ft., 2 1/2 in. in diameter. A 19 ft., 2 in. escape tower was fastened to the cylinder of the capsule. The rounded, bottom end was covered with a heat shield to protect it against the 3,000 degree heat from atmospheric entry.

Before the United States launched any humans into space, they launched an unmanned test flight of the booster and capsule, which carried a chimpanzee.

Each astronaut in Project Mercury got to name his space capsule and added the number 7 to represent the original seven astronauts of Project Mercury.

The first man sent into space by the Unite

Apollo 7 was the direct successor to Apollo 1. Its crew consisted of mission commander Walter Schirra, Air Force major Donn Eisele, and civilian Walter Cunningham. Apollo 7 was launched on October 11, 1968. This flight was very successful, except for the severe cold contracted by Schirra while in orbit.

The next American launched into space was John H. Glenn, Jr. He manned the "Friendship 7," which was launched on February 20, 1962. He was the first American to orbit the Earth. His total flight time was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. He spent three hours of that in orbit around the Earth.

Apollo 9 launched on March 3, 1969 and returned on March 13. Apollo 10 was a final rehearsal for the moon landing. If it was successful, humans would land on the moon in July 1969.

d States was Alan B. Shepard, Jr. He named his space capsule "Freedom 7." He was launched into space on May 5, 1961. He was in suborbital flight for 15 minutes and 28 seconds. Both Alan Shepard and the "Freedom 7" were recovered safely. Now, America was finally catching up to the Soviet Union's space technology.

In 1967, both America and the Soviet Union were preparing missions that would put humans on the moon. In the United States, these missions were called "Project Apollo." In the Soviet Union, they were called "Soyuz." Both the American and Soviet missions had exceptional safety records during the six years of manned spaceflight. There had been no fatalities during the 16 American missions or the eight Soviet missions so far.

We have learned much from exploring space and in the process begun to find that humans can do anything, even go to the moon.

Bond, Peter; Heroes in Space; Basil Blackwell; New York, NY; 1987

President Kennedy awarded Alan Shepard, Jr. the Distinguished Service Medal on May 8, 1961. On May 25, President Kennedy committed the United States to a multi-billion dollar space program for at least the next nine years. President Kennedy has this goal for America, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)