He was the last survivor of the Original 7 Astronauts, the first (MA-6 Freedom 7) and the last (STS-95) of them to orbit the Earth, and the only one of them to have held a seat in the U.S. Senate.
RIP Senator John Glenn
- Thread starter Squiggy
- Start date
He was a true American hero. We live in an age where the word "hero" is applied to a bunch of people who don't really deserve it.
John Glenn deserved it.
John Glenn deserved it.
Ok, maybe I'm remembering something else, like a wish from one of the other astronauts or something.
Apparently Gordon Cooper's ashes were launched into orbit in 2012 (died in 2004). But Gene Roddenberry is credited with the first "space burial" in 1992!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_burial
Maybe that's what I'm remembering! Either way, I think all astronauts should have the option should they wish.
The only Apollo astronaut I've met is Alan Bean, who became an artist painting scenes from the Moon.
The only Apollo astronaut I've met is Alan Bean, who became an artist painting scenes from the Moon.
John Glenn will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, yet another reason for me to visit DC in the near future..
http://www.chron.com/news/science/a...ns-in-John-Glenn-s-hometown-lost-10785259.php
http://www.chron.com/news/science/a...ns-in-John-Glenn-s-hometown-lost-10785259.php
As with the word "hero", the phrase "end of an era" is overused. Not in this case. No Mercury astronauts survive. Glenn was the last (and the oldest).
A quick and no accuracy claimed check shows that Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky
of Vostok 5 is probably the "dean" of the spaceflight corps (earliest mission flown by someone still living) at this point.
A quick and no accuracy claimed check shows that Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky
of Vostok 5 is probably the "dean" of the spaceflight corps (earliest mission flown by someone still living) at this point.
Although Harris looks a lot like Glenn and comes off very likeable in the film, none of the Mercury astronauts were impressed with the film. I've read his autobiography many times. I believe he refers to the film (which came out while he was running for president) as "Laurel and Hardy in Space". For the record, I didn't care for it that much either, certainly not compared to "Apollo 13" or "From the Earth to the Moon". The depiction of Gus Grissom as some kind of panicky screw-up during his Mercury mission is shameful (NASA never would've given him command of the first Gemini and the first Apollo, if that were the case).
Actually, having watched the "Enterprise" episode "First Flight", I thought Archer and Robinson in that episode reminded me of Glenn and Alan Shepard, respectively. Although both were superb pilots, one was considered a "boy scout", the other more of a wild maverick (Shepard, although married, was not totally faithful, and also had a history of "flat-hatting", which is flying at extremely low attitudes). They both jockeyed for the first flight and in both cases, the "maverick" got the first flight, but the "boy scout" ultimately achieved greater fame.
Edited to add:
And yeah, apart from some good movies and the mannequin challenge, this year's really sucked all around.
Agreed, the movie went heavy on the hatch-popping incident. In the book it was treated more even-handedly, and was contrasted with the missed splashdown point of Aurora 7, which did get Scott Carpenter labeled as a panicky screw-up, even though his heart rate data showed he had remained cool the whole time. The book positioned Carpenter and Glenn as the "outsiders" of the Seven, which is supported elsewhere.
I wouldn't agree with that. Alan Shepard was highly regarded as a professional. However, those were the "Mad Men" days when what a man did in his free time was considered his own business, including extramarital affairs, which were very common with astronauts as in other walks of life, all the way up to the president. Shepard was the next senior in rank after Glenn but the others gravitated more to him as a leader, and him standing up to Glenn about butting out of their private lives as shown in the movie is generally agreed to be accurate.
Because they could expect to represent their country in social situations in ports around the globe, professional propriety and social polish was weighed more heavily for senior officers in the Navy than in the other services. Shepard, despite getting in some hot water as a JG, understood that and had settled down, and was firmly on the right track to make the senior ranks. And indeed he did, he was the only one of the Mercury Seven to reach flag/general rank (of the Navy pilots, Wally Schirra had more of a rebellious streak despite a strong engineering bent, and Carpenter was just sort of an anomaly). The way Shepard applied himself to get back on flight status and into Apollo is well-known and impressive. Everything he did in the space program shows the mark of a dedicated professional. He may not have had the spotless private life that Glenn had, but he was not a maverick, and definitely not a wild maverick.
I didn't mean to suggest that Glenn was a "boy scout" and Shepard a "maverick". More in reputation.
Glenn has said his talking to the others astronauts about "the private lives" was not about trying to legislate morality, but about the concern (probably a valid one) that some sort of scandal going public could hurt the program.
In his autobiography, Glenn writes about he learned a journalist had caught an astronaut at a hotel with another woman. Glenn contact the editor and successfully appealed to him to kill the story for the sake of the program. Glenn doesn't say who the astronaut was, but Shepard's biography states that the astronaut was Shepard.
Frankly, I felt the film was a two-hour worship of Yeager (and that only he truly had "the right stuff"), with the astronauts coming in second place. Shepard has said that Yeager's infamous "spam in a can" remarks can be chalked up to "sour grapes" on account of his never being eligible for the program (his lack of college degree alone disqualified him) and I suspect that may be at least partly true.
Grissom's depiction is even more tasteless when you consider that he was the only one of the seven not alive at the time to defend himself.
The film obviously had to take some liberties in order to fit everything into a reasonable time, including using artistic license on some historical facts. But not having read the original book myself, does anyone know how historically accurate it is, at least at the time it was written?
I would rather not carry on further discussion of books and movies in John Glenn's memorial thread, so I will open a new thread in TV & Media. ETA: Here.
An odd bit of trivia: I looked up Glenn's Senate seniority number, which is 1684. Just before him at number 1683? Jake Garn, the other senator who went to space on a shuttle mission.
An odd bit of trivia: I looked up Glenn's Senate seniority number, which is 1684. Just before him at number 1683? Jake Garn, the other senator who went to space on a shuttle mission.
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