First American to Orbit Earth, John Glenn: Feb. 20, 1962
Put a man into earth orbit, watch how he reacts to the environment of space, and then return him safely to earth – these were the objectives of the Mercury Project’s Friendship 7 mission. These are rather simple objectives today but they were far from simple in 1962. The USSR at the time was well ahead of the USA in the “space race”. Astronaut John Glenn’s mission, if successful, would give the US space program a boost, both in morale and in technical objectives. At 9:47 AM, EST, on February 20, 1962 John Glenn in his Friendship 7 capsule was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida for a mission that would include 3 orbits around the planet.
Approximately 100,000 spectators watched the launch from nearby areas while millions more watched on television, collectively holding their breath until word came that Friendship 7 had achieved earth orbit.
During the first orbit, Glenn reported a flurry of small glowing “fireflies” passing by the capsule’s window. NASA eventually decided that the sparks were frozen water
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vapor from the spacecraft’s air conditioning system. However, before the flight was over a more serious problem arose.
Instruments that provided data on the spacecraft landing system reported that the heat shield and compressed landing bag were no longer locked in place. If the instrument readings were correct it appeared that Friendship 7’s critical heat shield was secured to the capsule only by the straps that held the retropack. If the heat shield separated from the capsule the mission would end in disaster.
The operations team at Mercury Control Center worked quickly to determine a way to bring the capsule back through the atmosphere with loose heat shielding. They decided to keep the retropack attached to the capsule, rather than jettison it as originally planned, for the reentry stage of the flight.
As reentry began, Glenn heard noises that sounded like “small things brushing against the capsule” as pieces of the retropack began to tear loose.
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“That’s a real fireball outside” Glenn radioed to Ground Control. Then a strap from the retropack came loose and began fluttering over the window. Entering the most nerve-wracking period of the flight, the fireball caused by the friction of reentry completely enveloped the capsule. “I thought the retropack had jettisoned and saw chunks coming off and flying by the window”, he reported some time later. He was concerned that the heat shield itself might be disintegrating.
After four minutes of radio silence during reentry, the loudspeakers at mission control finally came alive with John Glenn’s voice. The heat shield had held – and Friendship 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, as planned.
The US destroyer USS Noa picked up the astronaut and, upon stepping onto the deck, John Glenn’s first words were “It was hot in there.” Approximately five hours after launch, the mission had been successfully accomplished.
