Scrapbook 1: Feb 1962 — John Glenn
GLENN ALL SET FOR TODAY
AMERICAN astronaut John Glenn hopes to make his triple orbit of the globe today.
This will be his eleventh date for the big blast-off and last night on-the-spot observers at Cape Canaveral, the US rocket base, described the chances as “definitely good.”
It is estimated that Glenn’s fantastic journey will take nearly five hours.
Strapped on a couch in his capsule, John Glenn has a final check made on his equipment by a technician today.
World map showing the communications and tracking stations contacted by the first U.S. astronaut in orbit. Numbers indicate:
1, Bermua; 2, Atlantic Ocean ship; 3, Canary Islands; 4, Kano (Nigeria); 5, Zanzibar; 6, Indian Ocean ship; 7, Muchea and 8, Woomera (Australia); 9, Canton Island; 10, Hawaii; 11, California; 12, Guaymas, Mexico; 13, Texas; and 14, Cape Canaveral.
Spaceman John ‘Feels Great’
GOING GOING GLENN
From JOHN GOLD
CAPE CANAVERAL, Tuesday.
IT’S all set to go. Spaceman John Glenn is in his silver space-craft and the clock is ticking off the final minutes to the start of his 17,500 m.p.h. rocket ride three times around the earth.
Weather in the three Atlantic recovery zones is reported to be good. But cloud hangs over the flood-lit launch area here at Cape Canaveral.
It was reported to be thickening, but the countdown is going on.
Project Mercury men are confident, however, that the hot Florida sun will burn through in time for the blast off.
Only a key-hole in the sky is needed through which to rocket Glenn into orbit. Mercury control was hopeful: “Everything is go, it looks good.”
Glenn appeared calm and assured as he emerged from Hangar S after spending several hours resting in readiness for the flight.
He did not speak, but Lt. Col. John Powers, the astronaut’s spokesman, said: “John feels great.”
The astronaut’s family—his wife Anna and their two children, Lyn, 14, and David, 16.
A cheery wave from Col. John Glenn.
A SMILE
Then The Drive
If his nerves have suffered from the ten postponements of his orbit ride he gave no sign of it.
The 40-year-old astronaut was smiling behind the visor of his silver space suit as he climbed into the white-painted van which took him to the launch zone.
But space officials clearly want to spare him a repeat performance of the experience just 25 days ago when he spent more than four vain hours cramped in the Mercury capsule waiting for the launching that never came.
As the van arrived at the foot of the gleaming 93-ft. rocket the spacemen clustered at the site were studying reports on the thick cloud.
It was the same heavy grey blanket which had forced the January postponement. So to save Glenn at least some time in the top-shaped space craft a 30-minute weather hold was announced.
HE TALKS
With Doctors
The astronaut spent the time waiting in the comfortable transit van talking with doctors and officials.
Then promtly at 6.03 (11.03 London time) he stepped on to the lift which carried him up the gantry to the space capsule.
If all goes well and the skies clear the Atlas rocket will hurl Glen and his capsule into orbit about 100 miles over Bermuda.
It will speed through the weightless, emptiness of space across Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Pacific, Mexico and the southern United States.
SCIENTISTS
Are Watching
Glenn will go back and forth across the equator from the winter of the northern hemisphere into the summer of the southern hemisphere and across the international dateline from the daytime of Tuesday into the night-time of Wednesday and back into Tuesday again.
Throughout most of his long flight he will be in a state of weightlessness.
Scientists are anxiously watching to see what effect this has on him.
When the Soviet cosmonaut Titov made his 17-orbit flight last August he suffered long bouts of air sickness.
If Glenn goes the full three orbits it will take four and three quarter hours. A two-orbit mission would be three and a quarter hours and a single orbit one and three quarter hours.