Marrakesh, 21 Feb. (Morocco-News) –
This February 20 marks 60 years since NASA successfully sent an astronaut into Earth’s orbit and to bring him back safe and soundin 1962.
At the height of the Cold WarJohn Glenn’s flight was a response to that of Russian Gagarin, the first human being to travel in space and orbit the Earth on April 12, 1961.
In 1958, John Glenn took part in a series of tests intended to select the first group of astronauts for NASA’s newest manned space program. Each astronaut candidate, from an initial group of 508, had to meet seven requirements.
They had to be graduates of a test pilot school, in excellent physical shape, be under 40 years old, be less than 1.80 m tall, be qualified jet pilots, have at least 1,500 hours of flight and have an engineering degree. Glenn fulfilled all the conditions.
He also had a reputation as one of the best test pilots in the country.. In July 1957, he had set a transcontinental speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes. This is the first transcontinental flight to reach average supersonic speed.
In April 1959, John Glenn was selected to be part of the first group of astronauts, the “Mercury Seven”. He was accompanied by Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton.
After three years of training, John Glenn launched into space aboard the Mercury capsule “Friendship 7”. He became the third American in space and the first to orbit Earth, according to NASA. The historic flight was not easy. At the end of its first orbit, a jet used to steer the spacecraft’s attitude jammed, causing Glenn to abandon the automatic control system and use the manual electric flight system.
In 4 hours and 56 minutes, John Glenn circled the globe three times, reaching speeds of over 27,000 kilometers per hour.. The successful mission ended with a water landing and recovery in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,200 kilometers southeast of Bermuda.
John Glenn instantly became a hero. President John Kennedy awarded him the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Schools and streets across the country have been named following him. And a streamer parade in New York celebrated his mission. He passed away on December 8, 2016.