Today, May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America's first astronaut as he made a 15-minute flight in a space capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida adding legitimatimacy to the United States Space Program. Shepard was named a Rear Admiral and by the end of his career had logged 216 hours and 57 minutes in space. He died on July 21, 1998.