Glenn reflects on his mission, future of space
Feb. 12, 2012 | Comments
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Glenn's 50th: John Glenn looks back at orbital fli...: Retired Sen. John Glenn talks about his historic orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962. By Todd Halvorson, Tim Walters, WBNS-TV 10, NASA Posted Feb. 12, 2012
Glenn's 50th: John Glenn looks back at orbital fli...
Glenn's 50th: Return to space on Discovery
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Holly Richards
Staff Writer
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John Glenn
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Muskingum County
John Glenn's senior portrait from the New Concord High School yearbook for 1939.
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., left, and astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, participate in a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony Nov. 16, 2011, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Medals were presented to Glenn and his fellow Apollo 11 crew members. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty
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Whether it's spectacular glimpses of whole countries or a burning heat shield, former U.S. Sen. John Glenn still can clearly picture events from a half-century ago.
"It was a rare day in the last 50 years, and I recall it so often so I have very vivid memories," he said.
On Feb. 20, 1962, he became the first American to orbit the Earth, and a space exploration pioneer, as he piloted the Friendship 7 NASA spacecraft.
NASA officially was created on Oct. 1, 1958. On April 9, 1959, Glenn was introduced to the world as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts involved in the country's first manned space flight project called Project Mercury.
After extensive physical and psychological testing, training, spacecraft launchings involving monkeys and chimpanzees, and two suborbital flights manned by Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, it was Glenn's turn.
There were numerous weather and parts issues to contend with, pushing Glenn's orbit back several times. He suited up four times and finally took to the sky on the 11th scheduled date.
"The day I went up, a bolt broke on the hatch, so (the launch) was delayed a bit while it was replaced," Glenn previously recalled. "Some psychiatrists said this was too much tension and questioned if I should be replaced. I found it humorous. I was disappointed, but I was just anxious to do the flight."
Once things fell into place, he made history by orbiting Earth three times in less than five hours on that momentous morning in the Friendship 7 spacecraft.
"My first view of space was traveling 17,500 miles an hour, and five miles a second," Glenn said. "I looked down and could see the whole state of Florida and Mexico, then whole countries in a single glance. That was impressive. I went around the Earth in an hour and a half. The view was clear, I was looking down on the clouds, and it was a beautiful sight everywhere."
Glenn said he also remembers a couple emergency situations he ran into.
"It was planned to remain on auto control for the first half of the trip, but at the end of the first orbit the thruster was stuck and I took over manually," he said. "Then towards the end of the flight, two different tracking stations reported the heat shield was loose. I left the retropack on instead of throwing it away to help hold the shield in place. On re-entry, big chunks of it flew by the window. It was a spectacular view."
After returning to Earth to share his experience with his comrades at NASA, he received a hero's welcome at various locations across the country.
"The days after, there were ticker-tape parades in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Washington, D.C., and New York City, but my favorite was the one in New Concord," said the native of the Muskingum County village. "In a place of only 1,500, there was an estimated 50,000 people in town that day. We knew a lot of people there and still have old copies of stories from newspapers then. My days in New Concord were fun."
Looking back, Glenn said there isn't anything he would do differently. It was a series of serendipitous events and opportunities that led him to the American icon he has become.
"When I was growing up, I thought I wanted to be a doctor," he said. "But then I went through civilian pilot training, and I got my private pilot's license in 1941 at the airport in New Philadelphia. Then when Pearl Harbor happened, I left Muskingum (College) for military flight training.
"I liked flying so much that I stuck with it," he said. "In World War II, I was a test pilot, then I entered the space program. It made my name better known, and I went on to hold public office. (Space) changed my life, and things opened up."
Since this month began, numerous events have been conducted to honor Glenn and his legacy. Many educational and entertaining activities have taken place at Ohio State University and will continue through Feb. 21.
Glenn said he and his wife, Annie, will be in Cape Canaveral, Fla., this week to participate in anniversary events there, then will return to Ohio for a few of the OSU activities. The main event Glenn will be present for is a Feb. 20 celebration dinner that benefits the college's John Glenn School of Public Affairs and the College of Engineering.
"It's fun to look back and recall the anniversary, but it's time to look ahead," he said. "The anniversary needs to bring attention to things like math, science and technology that are important. We need to encourage young people who are interested in science.
"There are a couple things that are important for the country that will help us develop," he said. "First is education, which is for everybody. Second is basic research. It was only 125 years from the Revolutionary War to 1900 when we were looked at as the leader in the world because of education and research."
Glenn expressed disappointment with some of the current policies regarding space travel, arguing the necessity of the program.
"I would like to see an emphasis on the International Space Station; it's a unique laboratory," he said. "The space shuttle (program) was terminated in 2010 and the space station may be terminated in 2015. It doesn't make sense. It's important to do research as we travel further into space.
"It's a very touchy time period now that I don't like," he said. "The sole purpose of the program is not to send people into space to see how far they can go or what will happen to them; it's to do basic research that will benefit everyone here on Earth."
Glenn is expected to touch on these issues as he participates in an installment of the NASA Future Forum at OSU. With key speakers including Glenn, OSU President E. Gordon Gee and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, four panel discussions will focus on innovation, discovery, national benefits and education.
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