It was some 50 years ago in May that astronaut Alan B. Shepard became the first American in outer space, piloting the Freedom 7 spacecraft to an altitude of 116 statute miles. Just days later, Shepard was blazing trails once again, this time piloting the customized white Chevrolet Corvette given to him by GM to honor his accomplishment.

That kicked off a longstanding love affair between America’s astronauts and America’s iconic supercar that is still going strong. The latest evidence? When some 30 astronauts gathered recently for a parade in Cocoa Beach, Fla., to celebrate the golden anniversary of Shepard’s flight, they were all in Chevrolet Corvettes. Further adding to the unique event, the astronauts were driven in Corvettes from their own eras, meaning examples from all six generations of the car were on display.

The connection between America’s space pioneers and the Corvette actually began even before Shepard made his famous flight, when he brought his personal 1957 ’Vette to the space program’s training facility. A true gearhead, Shepard would go on to own at least 10 different Corvettes before he passed away in 1998.

Shepard’s interest in Chevy’s sports car—and a special leasing deal arranged by Florida Chevrolet dealer Jim Rathmann—eventually led to six of the Mercury astronauts finding their way into Corvettes, along with all three members of both the Apollo 12 and Apollo 15 missions, just to name a few. Needless to say, this kind of publicity was a key element in helping the car become the performance icon it is today.

“In the 1960s, astronauts were the American heroes that every child idolized and every adult respected,” said Corvette historian and former Corvette Quarterly editor Jerry Burton. “That so many of them drove Corvettes really helped to establish Corvette as America’s sports car.”

And with that kind of tradition to build on, it’s no surprise that the Chevrolet Corvette remains an out-of-this-world performer in 2011.

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