DERRY, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire officials are celebrating the completion of an Interstate 93 expansion project and the rededication of the highway in honor of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

A gathering Friday in Derry, Shepard’s home town, will unveil a new Alan B. Shepard Highway sign.

Gov. Chris Sununu and members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation are scheduled to attend, as well as family of Shepard.

Shepard became the first American in space in 1961 as one of NASA’s seven original Mercury astronauts. In 1971, he walked on the moon and hit two golf balls.

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