On May 3, 1960, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space aboard the spacecraft Freedom 7. His suborbital flight lasted only 15 minutes but was a crucial milestone in the Cold War-era space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Shepards flight demonstrated the United States capability in human space exploration. Shepard later went on to become the fifth person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission. His flight helped solidify the U.S. position as a global leader in space exploration.