Manchester – Astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. added another feather to his cap yesterday: a 1,000-foot combat ship that will join the U.S. Navy’s fleet by March 2007.

The Navy will name the ship the USS Shepard in honor of the late New Hampshire-born astronaut who was the first American in space, the Granite State’s Congressional delegation announced.

“Alan Shepard lead a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy and at NASA, and naming a ship after him will be a fitting tribute to one of our nation’s greatest pilots and astronauts,” U.S Reps. Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley and U.S. Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu said in a joint written statement.

Shepard, who would be 82, is a favorite son of Derry, which was nicknamed “Space Town” after Shepard’s historic flight aboard Freedom May 5, 1961.

The town post office and a building at Pinkerton Academy, from which he graduated in 1940, are named after him. So is a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 93 from Salem to Manchester. Even a garage — Spacetown Auto Body — bears him an honor.

On the Internet, there is a brisk trade in Shepard memorabilia. An Lebanon, Indiana, seller offered a autographed 8 by 10 picture of Shepard in a space suit for $200 on Ebay yesterday. Another site sold for $259 a signed launch folder.

Derry town councilor Craig Bulkley said he, like many boys in the 60s, was enthralled by the space program — and this despite being raised in Lebanon, Penn.

“The town I grew up in, I don’t recall that we had anyone of such a national level as Colonel Shepard,” Bulkley said. “He really put his life on the line for his country, and I think he had a great career as an astronaut.”

The USS Shepard will be part of the T-AKE class of auxiliary support ships, which have a primary mission of delivering supplies to Navy ships, transferring cargo and providing logistical support.

The ship has a top speed of 20 knots. It will be build in San Diego by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.

Shepard was born and raised in East Derry, though he never lived in town as an adult.

Ten years after his historic mission, Shepard led Apollo XIV to the moon. He was the holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor and two NASA Distinguished Service Medals.

He died near his home in Pebble Beach, Calif. in 1998.