 Now, from the historical audio archives of Fox News Talk. On April 9th, 1959, NASA named the first group of American astronauts, selected from a list of 110 candidates. In just two years, on May 5th, 1961, Alan Shepard would become the first American astronaut in a suborbital flight. Which of these men will be first to orbit the Earth? I cannot tell you. He won't know himself until the day of the flight. From your right.