Posted on 02/20/2005 5:54:00 PM PST by mdittmar
On February 20, 1962, aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft, Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth.
The five-hour orbital flight, however, had nearly ended in disaster. Near the end of Friendship 7's first orbit, the craft's automatic control system malfunctioned and Glenn was forced to switch to manual control to regain control of the spinning craft. Then, near the end of the third and final orbit, a loose heat shield threatened Friendship 7 with incineration during its imminent reentry.
It was decided that the craft's retrorockets, usually jettisoned before reentry, would be left on in order to better secure the shield. Minutes later, Friendship 7 slammed into the atmosphere.
As mission control anxiously waited for the resumption of radio transmissions that would indicate his survival, Glenn watched flaming chunks of retrorocket, heat shield, and spacecraft fly by his window. Moments later, Glenn's voice crackled through loudspeakers at mission control and Friendship 7 safely splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. John Glenn, thethird American in space and the first to orbit the earth, was hailed as a national hero, and on February 23, President John F. Kennedy visited him at Cape Canaveral.
Three days later, Glenn addressed Congress in Washington, and on March 1, was given a tickertape parade in New York City. From the bandstand outside New York's City Hall, Glenn addressed his adoring crowd, emphasizing as always the collective achievements of NASA and his fellow Project Mercury astronauts.
Don't remind me. This entitled J Glenn to be our "distinguished" senator for life.
bump
I knew that was coming;)
I couldn't resist. IMHO, oriting the earth should not be worth more than 1 term.
Today's Highlight in History: AN AMERICAN ORBITS EARTH; GOES GOOFY IN LATER YEARS
I remember seeing my dad reading the paper.
"Glenn Orbits 3 Times"
The font size must have been 6 inches tall!
What a proud day. Back to the moon, and onward to Mars!!!!
During the 16th century, newly married couples in France had to stand naked outdoors while the groom kissed the bride's left foot and big toe as part of traditional customs.
(Source: Verified)
Many years later John Glenn would go up in the Space Shuttle. To do so Glenn would bump someone who had trained for years. That showed what kind of man Glenn is.
The Wrong Stuff for Politics.
yeah cause he was a hero then.....10 days before my 5th birthday but I remember it very well........
John Glenn and Annika Sörenstam have something in common.
And in order to secure that Shuttle ride Glenn used his position in the Senate to obstruct the investigation into treason committed by the Clinton administration. The most direct and obvious bribe ever in the sordid history of the Democrat party.
There are 6 astronauts from Project Mercury who I hold in very high regard.
I have had the pleasure of seeing one of them (Wally Schirra) in person, as well as 8 people who went to the Moon. I've even gotten to meet and talk to two of those who walked on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin (briefly at a book signing on the occassion of the 20th anniversay of Apollo 11) and Gene Cernan (extended discussions in the early hours before the 30th anniversary events for Apollo 11 at KSC).
I would go out of my way to avoid meeting John Glenn and, if I couldn't avoid it, I would go out of my way to tell him that I believe he betrayed everything he stood for prior to becoming a politician.
For that matter, everyone got pulled out of class to watch space shots for a period of about 10-12 years there.
Glenn did alright and was a great officer and aviator.
That spill in the shower though, did something to him that resulted in him running for office as a Democrat.
Man, watch out for head injuries.
They asked me if I wanted to go over and meet him. I declined.
At one point I remember they had all these flags up and down NASA Rd. 1 celebrating Glenn. What an ego Glenn has.
Rumor has it he barfed all through the shuttle flight. However, that's second hand info, so I can't verify it...
I've been really disappointed in Glenn. I mean, the man was a war hero (and wingman to Ted Williams), great test pilot, and was the first man to ride an Atlas rocket into space. Then, he turns a blind eye to Clinton's illegal fundraising...
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