They say any landing you can walk away from is a good one. Alan Shepard goodlandwalk Change image and share on social
We also knew it would be difficult, because of the financial condition of the family, for me to go to college. Alan Shepard collegeconditiondifficult Change image and share on social
We wanted to be in great shape, we wanted to be able to cope with zero gravity, we wanted to be able to cope with accelerations and decelerations and so on. So all of us trained so that we were probably in the best physical condition we had ever been in up until that point. Alan Shepard accelerationconditioncope share on social
Of course I was delighted the flight was over, but I still had to worry about cleaning up inside the cabin, I had to worry about the hatch, how to get in the sling, and so on. Alan Shepard cabincleandelight Change image and share on social
You know, being a test pilot isn't always the healthiest business in the world. Alan Shepard businesshealthypilot Change image and share on social
And I think that still is true of this business - which is basically research and development - that you probably spend more time in planning and training and designing for things to go wrong, and how you cope with them, than you do for things to go right. Alan Shepard basicallybusinesscope share on social
I woke up an hour before I was supposed to, and started going over the mental checklist: where do I go from here, what do I do? I don't remember eating anything at all, just going through the physical, getting into the suit. We practiced that so much, it was all rote. Alan Shepard checklisteathour share on social
Later, in the early teens, I used to ride my bike every Saturday morning to the nearest airport, ten miles away, push airplanes in and out of the hangars, and clean up the hangars. Alan Shepard airplaneairportbike Change image and share on social
