If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)

Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

60th anniversary of first American orbital flight(John Glenn and friendship 7)

Itssoeasy · 2022-02-20 01:31:45

Today, February 20th marks the 60th anniversary of Americas first human to orbit the earth which John Glenn did three times over nearly five hours is his mercury capsule named Friendship 7. In contrast the Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, John Glenn actually orbited the earth. The flight was relatively uneventful until a…

Options

20-02-2022 2:31am

#1

Itssoeasy

Registered Users Posts: 39,440 ✭✭✭✭

Join Date: April 2010

Posts: 39312

Today, February 20th marks the 60th anniversary of Americas first human to orbit the earth which John Glenn did three times over nearly five hours is his mercury capsule named Friendship 7. In contrast the Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, John Glenn actually orbited the earth.
The flight was relatively uneventful until a faulty warning about the heat shield forced Glenn to leave the retrorocket pack on and to jettison it much later than he would normally have done so. John Glenn reported seeing chunks of the pack flying past him during reentry.
https://youtu.be/E-lTPK5sQAA
John Glenn would fly on the shuttle on STS-95 in October, 1998.
I take it that @Capt'n Midnight unlike my Alan Shepard thread approves of this thread. There’s no issue with this flight 60 years ago today.

Post edited by Itssoeasy on February 2022

1