Alan Shepard (1923-1998) Astronaut. Shepard became one of the original seven Mercury program astronauts. In May 1961, 23 days after Yury A. Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 115 miles. He later commanded the Apollo 14 flight (1971), the first to land in the lunar highlands. His book, Moon Shot, with Deke Slayton, Turner Publishing, 1994, first edition, signed on a book plate, which has some staining, affixed to the first blank page. The dust jacket is unblemished.