Конечно, ложь.
Цель-то была немножко не та
The Soviets beat the Americans by less than a month. Shepard's launch was initially scheduled for May 2 but was rescheduled twice because of weather conditions. On May 5
, Freedom 7 lifted off, carrying Shepard to an altitude of 116 miles (187 kilometers) for a 15-minute suborbital flight. Because of the placement of the porthole windows, the
first American in space was unable to catch a glimpse of the stars, and he was strapped in too tight to experience weightlessness.
Alan Shepard rode Freedom 7 to become the first American in space. He later went to the moon on Apollo 14.
www.space.com
Куда там ему было до звёзд