In Memory of Astronaut John Glenn
January 2017 :
As a baby boomer, one of the generation to be “a part of that time in history,” it seems only fitting for me to write about one of the first, and last, of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, John Glenn.
Born in 1921, Glenn dropped out of college to serve his country during World War II and the Korean War, flying a total of 122 combat missions with the Army Air Corps. After the wars, he became one of the first seven designated astronauts, chosen to fly in totally uncharted territory, space.
Glenn was chosen to be the fourth astronaut in space, and the first American to circle the Earth. His orbits, it was learned, were not the stuff of just sitting there and enjoying the view: During the flight, the climate control mechanism stopped working properly, forcing Glenn to balance the temperature of his space suit against the interior craft's humidity; also, the automated steering failed. Glenn had to take control of Friendship 7, manually maneuvering the craft throughout his mission. In addition, it was said that as the Atlas rockets had a history of massive, catastrophic explosions, NASA was unsure it could bring Glenn to Earth safely, that it had reason to believe the capsule could disintegrate during reentry. However, he did make it back home, and it is said, once he stepped onto the USS Noa after touching down in the Atlantic Ocean, his first words were, “It was hot in there.” His reward: a glass of iced tea, a call from then-President John F. Kennedy, and an eventual ticker-tape parade. (For those too young to know the meaning of a ticker-tape parade, ask one of us slightly older people.)
After his successful work at NASA, Glenn retired at age 42, realizing he was now too old to be chosen to travel to the Moon, but he continued to serve his country by representing his home state of Ohio for 24 years. However, apparently he could not forget his astronaut training, volunteering in 1998 at age 77 to become the oldest person ever to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, spending several days on the Discovery, to determine the effects of space on aging. That record still holds.
John Glenn was the last living member of the Mercury 7 astronauts, dying December 8th, 2016 at age 95. By then, it was assumed, like many heroes, that Glenn would live forever, but, it was not meant to be. However, the words spoken to him as he began his first trip into space will: “Godspeed, John Glenn.” RIP.
