Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- A lineup of vintage and new Chevrolet Corvettes are parked after a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter gives a thumbs-up to spectators from a Chevrolet Corvette after a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center Director and former space shuttle astronaut Bob Cabana waves to spectators from a Chevrolet Corvette after a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Guests and retired astronauts walk away from the Chevrolet Corvettes they rode in during a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter is warmly greeted by spectators while sitting in a vintage Chevrolet Corvette after a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired space shuttle astronaut Dick Gordon is warmly greeted by spectators while sitting in a vintage Chevrolet Corvette after a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida. A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASA’s 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepard’s Mercury/Freedom 7 suborbital flight May 5, 1961.The event was marked by a parade, with the astronauts riding in a fleet of Chevrolet Corvettes that corresponded with the time period of their space missions. Members of the Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their family representatives in club members' cars. The Corvette parade started at the glass bank building, at 9:34 a.m. EDT, the same time Shepard launched into space. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett