Today (February 20, 2022) is the 60th anniversary of John Glenn's Mercury flight

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On February 20th 1962, John Glenn made America's first orbital space flight in a Mercury spacecraft. Friendship 7 orbited the Earth three times.

Glenn's flight was the third manned Mercury flight, and used the powerful Atlas booster - Alan Shepard (May 1961) and Gus Grissom (July 1961) had made suborbital flights using the smaller Redstone rocket.

Glenn, by then 77, returned to space c. 1998 as a payload specialist on a Shuttle mission.
 
Wow, I was just watching the "Real Right Stuff" last night. I'm a huge fan of spaceflight. My wife and I watched Glenn's shuttle launch from the causeway at the cape. We both had a bit of emotion on that one. My father picked my middle name after the astronaut, against my mothers wishes. Glad he did!!

Dad worked in NYC and told me all about the epic celebrations they had (ticker tape parades) with regard to the early astronauts.


9609433802_26277c4866_o.jpg
 
Wow, I was just watching the "Real Right Stuff" last night. I'm a huge fan of spaceflight. My wife and I watched Glenn's shuttle launch from the causeway at the cape. We both had a bit of emotion on that one. My father picked my middle name after the astronaut, against my mothers wishes. Glad he did!!

Dad worked in NYC and told me all about the epic celebrations they had (ticker tape parades) with regard to the early astronauts.


9609433802_26277c4866_o.jpg
I envy your getting to see the launch!

I did see a Skylab crew launch in July '73 - that was a Saturn 1B. Would have loved to see a Saturn V or a Shuttle, but the 1B was impressive in its own right.

I built the model kit (Revell?) "Everything Is Go" when I was a teen - the Mercury Atlas combo and the gantry, per your photo. Probably my favourite kit of all time - unfortunately it didn't survive my parents' many moves.

I need to check out "The Real Right Stuff" - as you'll know, Tom Wolfe's book, and the later movie, were really entertaining, but had some significant historical flaws.

We didn't have TV at the time of Glenn's Shuttle flight - I took the afternoon off work, and watched at a shopping centre - they had a big TV set up for public viewing.
 
I need to check out "The Real Right Stuff" - as you'll know, Tom Wolfe's book, and the later movie, were really entertaining, but had some significant historical flaws.

While he probably dramatized it a bit much, Tom Wolfe's book was extremely well researched and a heck of a lot more accurate than the movie version. In particular, the movie version made it seem as if Chuck Yeager's flight of the NF-104A (where he had to eject) was a joyride where they basically didn't question him taking off because he was in charge. In reality it was a carefully planned, and he had full authorization to attempt it with a large crew working on the preparation.
 
My mother took us to the beach somewhere near the Cape the watch the Alan Shepard launch. I was eight years old. I remember getting my pants leg wet when the light surf came a little higher than expected. I didn't even get in trouble for it. Since we saw missile launches all the time, or so it seemed, another launch was not a big deal to me. Being older, John Glenn's launch was a bigger deal, especially since he actually orbited the Earth. They had a parade going down the main street there in Cocoa Beach with the First Lady in it. Some parade, they went by at about 60 mph. I think that was on Ocean Beach Blvd, going north from Cocoa Beach Causeway.
 
While he probably dramatized it a bit much, Tom Wolfe's book was extremely well researched and a heck of a lot more accurate than the movie version. In particular, the movie version made it seem as if Chuck Yeager's flight of the NF-104A (where he had to eject) was a joyride where they basically didn't question him taking off because he was in charge. In reality it was a carefully planned, and he had full authorization to attempt it with a large crew working on the preparation.
I enjoyed both the book and the movie very much. Saw the movie several times in the theatre in '83/84. Have read the book probably at least five times. Wolfe was an incredible writer. I've read several of his other books, and they've all been a good read.

However, my big beef with both the book and the movie was how they depicted Gus Grissom as having messed up, causing the hatch of Liberty Bell 7 to blow, and leading to the capsule sinking.

That story fit Wolfe's narrative (the chapter was called "The Unscrewable Pooch") but is not supported by the facts. Whenever the hatch was triggered manually, the backlash bruised the astronaut's hand badly. Grissom's hand was not injured. Grissom always denied blowing the hatch, either deliberately or accidentally.

Grissom was pretty much vindicated long afterward - Liberty Bell 7 was recovered in July 1999, and the edge of the hatch was slightly deformed. It's likely that the hatch was damaged on splashdown, and blew spontaneously. Unfortunately, the hatch door itself was not recovered.

It would have been good for Wolfe to have revised the book at that point. And at the least, the movie could have pointed out, in the epilogue, that Grissom had flown a perfect Gemini 3 flight in 1965.

More recently, just in the last few months, footage has been released which appears to indicated an electrical discharge from the recovery helicopter to the capsule, followed immediately by the hatch blowing.

So why did Wolfe make Grissom a scapegoat? It appears Wolfe relied heavily on two sources - Chuck Yeager, and Pete Conrad. Did either or both of them have an axe to grind? They're all gone now, so we won't ever know.

John Glenn claimed in his autobiography that he felt that the movie had really hurt his chances politically - he had wanted to be the Dem presidential candidate in '84. He thought the movie depicted the Mercury 7 as a bunch of buffoons, and said they should have called it "Laurel and Hardy go into space".

In reality, the Mercury 7, besides all being accomplished test pilots, also all had post-secondary degrees, typically in aeronautical engineering. Their IQs ranged from 135 to 147. (Average IQ is defined as 100, with a standard deviation of 15. 68% of the population has an IQ between 85 and 115. 16% have an IQ greater than 115. Only 2% have an IQ of 130 or greater.) Therefore, all of the Mercury astronauts were in the top 2% of the population for intelligence, and at least one of them was a genius.

The Mercury astronauts were far more intelligent than depicted in the movie.

As well, Jack Ridley, Yeager's Beeman-chewing sidekick in the movie, was in reality an absolutely brilliant aeronautical engineer.

OK, rant over ... these points aside, I still loved both the book and the movie.
 
I enjoyed both the book and the movie very much. Saw the movie several times in the theatre in '83/84. Have read the book probably at least five times. Wolfe was an incredible writer. I've read several of his other books, and they've all been a good read.

However, my big beef with both the book and the movie was how they depicted Gus Grissom as having messed up, causing the hatch of Liberty Bell 7 to blow, and leading to the capsule sinking.

That story fit Wolfe's narrative (the chapter was called "The Unscrewable Pooch") but is not supported by the facts. Whenever the hatch was triggered manually, the backlash bruised the astronaut's hand badly. Grissom's hand was not injured. Grissom always denied blowing the hatch, either deliberately or accidentally.

Grissom was pretty much vindicated long afterward - Liberty Bell 7 was recovered in July 1999, and the edge of the hatch was slightly deformed. It's likely that the hatch was damaged on splashdown, and blew spontaneously. Unfortunately, the hatch door itself was not recovered.

It would have been good for Wolfe to have revised the book at that point. And at the least, the movie could have pointed out, in the epilogue, that Grissom had flown a perfect Gemini 3 flight in 1965.

More recently, just in the last few months, footage has been released which appears to indicated an electrical discharge from the recovery helicopter to the capsule, followed immediately by the hatch blowing.

So why did Wolfe make Grissom a scapegoat? It appears Wolfe relied heavily on two sources - Chuck Yeager, and Pete Conrad. Did either or both of them have an axe to grind? They're all gone now, so we won't ever know.

John Glenn claimed in his autobiography that he felt that the movie had really hurt his chances politically - he had wanted to be the Dem presidential candidate in '84. He thought the movie depicted the Mercury 7 as a bunch of buffoons, and said they should have called it "Laurel and Hardy go into space".

In reality, the Mercury 7, besides all being accomplished test pilots, also all had post-secondary degrees, typically in aeronautical engineering. Their IQs ranged from 135 to 147. (Average IQ is defined as 100, with a standard deviation of 15. 68% of the population has an IQ between 85 and 115. 16% have an IQ greater than 115. Only 2% have an IQ of 130 or greater.) Therefore, all of the Mercury astronauts were in the top 2% of the population for intelligence, and at least one of them was a genius.

The Mercury astronauts were far more intelligent than depicted in the movie.

As well, Jack Ridley, Yeager's Beeman-chewing sidekick in the movie, was in reality an absolutely brilliant aeronautical engineer.

OK, rant over ... these points aside, I still loved both the book and the movie.

Well - I do remember the book version went over Pete Conrad in depth and mentioned a lot about how he blew his chances to be in the Mercury 7. Something about him doing crazy stuff such as pulling out a pen and notebook to mock the people outside observing him. Also when he had to produce a fecal sample and he gift wrapped it. Also - Gordon Cooper apparently wasn't as accomplished as a test pilot.

Not sure about them all having post-secondary degrees. John Glenn wasn't a college graduate when he was chosen. Several of the Mercury 7 got their degrees while in active duty. John Glenn put off completing his college degree because WWII started. I seem to recall the book The Right Stuff mentioned he completed it while in the Mercury program.
 
Well - I do remember the book version went over Pete Conrad in depth and mentioned a lot about how he blew his chances to be in the Mercury 7. Something about him doing crazy stuff such as pulling out a pen and notebook to mock the people outside observing him. Also when he had to produce a fecal sample and he gift wrapped it. Also - Gordon Cooper apparently wasn't as accomplished as a test pilot.

Not sure about them all having post-secondary degrees. John Glenn wasn't a college graduate when he was chosen. Several of the Mercury 7 got their degrees while in active duty. John Glenn put off completing his college degree because WWII started. I seem to recall the book The Right Stuff mentioned he completed it while in the Mercury program.
I was a big Pete Conrad fan - and was interested and a bit surprised to see him flogging Dura Lube some years ago (mid-'90s, IIRC). This an informercial running on closed-circuit TV at Canadian Tire.

We were camping out in the Rockies in July '99, got rained out, and set up in a motel in Calgary for a night to dry out. Was saddened to see that Pete had died in a motorcycle crash. They played an Apollo 12 documentary to honour him.
 
I was a big Pete Conrad fan - and was interested and a bit surprised to see him flogging Dura Lube some years ago (mid-'90s, IIRC). This an informercial running on closed-circuit TV at Canadian Tire.

We were camping out in the Rockies in July '99, got rained out, and set up in a motel in Calgary for a night to dry out. Was saddened to see that Pete had died in a motorcycle crash. They played an Apollo 12 documentary to honour him.

I remember Wally Schirra and Actifed.





Alan Shepard eventually cashed in.

 
No matter what anyone says all those pilots had iron balls.

They had to fight to be considered pilots. Originally the idea would be that they were test subjects who knew how to toggle switches and press buttons. There were suggestions that the ideal man to go into space might be what became the US Navy's radar intercept officer or the USAF equivalent.
 
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