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<p>In this May 5, 1961, image released by NASA, U.S. astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., is seen in his space suit prior to launch on the spacecraft Freedom 7 at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Shepard became the first astronaut to man a spacecraft in orbit. NASA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. human flight with several ceremonies and a parade. The U.S. Postal Service will unveil two new stamps, one commemorates NASA's Project Mercury and Shepard's history launch and the other honor's NASA's Messenger, which became the first spacecraft to orbit the Planet Mercury.</p>

<p>In this May 5, 1961, image released by NASA, U.S. astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., is seen in his space suit prior to launch on the spacecraft Freedom 7 at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Shepard became the first astronaut to man a spacecraft in orbit. NASA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. human flight with several ceremonies and a parade. The U.S. Postal Service will unveil two new stamps, one commemorates NASA's Project Mercury and Sh…

May 6, 2011

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First American in space honored
May 6, 2011 9 p.m.

First American in space honored

Alan Shepard blasted into orbit 50 years ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Fifty years to the moment Alan Shepard rocketed away, more than 100 Project Mercury workers joined former astronauts and NASA leaders at the original Redstone launch pad Thursday to celebrate the event that opened space travel to Americans.