On May 5, 2011, hundreds of people gathered at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The crowd honored Alan Shepard and celebrated his historic achievement 50 years before as the first American in space. Shepard had been selected along with six other astronauts for Project Mercury, the first American spaceflight program. Room inside the spacecraft used for Project Mercury was extremely tight, so voyages were limited to one astronaut at a time. Shepard went first, soaring 116 miles (187 kilometers) above Earth in the Freedom 7 capsule. The short flight lasted only 15 minutes. Do It! Shepard _________ American space travel. Press enter to interact with the item, and press tab button or down arrow until reaching the Submit button once the item is selected A renewed B guaranteed C pioneered D predicted
