Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Retired shuttle and Skylab astronaut Dick Lousma greets spectators from a Chevrolet Corvette during a commemorative parade in Cocoa Beach, Fla.A group of current and retired NASA astronauts gathered in Cocoa Beach to commemorate NASAs 50 years of accomplishments and to honor astronaut Alan Shepards 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.