Video: 'Shepard Medal Presentation'

(Monday, May 8, 1961, 10:00-10:25 a.m. EDT) — Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., 37, who became the first American to travel into space just three days ago aboard Freedom 7, was presented the NASA Distinguished Service Medal by President John F. Kennedy today at the White House.

Shepard was also toasted by members of Congress and greeted by thousands of persons as he rode in an open car to Capitol Hill. He also held a news conference to take reporters’ questions.

Video: 'CBS News: Alan Shepard in Washington (1961)'

Shepard’s rocket, first of the Mercury program, reached an altitude of 115 miles on May 5, 1961, without achieving orbit, and was recovered 19 minutes later in the North Atlantic Ocean by the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.

The mission was a technical success, though American pride in the accomplishment was damped by the fact that just three weeks before, the Soviet Union had launched the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, who completed one orbit on Vostok 1.