RIP Astronaut John Glenn

[BradyGirl]

No question about it. I devoured everything I could about the space program and am still very interested in the topic and keep up with it. John Glenn was the Big Cheese among kids of the day because he was the first to complete an orbit, but I can recall arguing that Shephard was a bigger deal because he was the first in space. I couldn't understand why a complete revolution of the Earth made him irrelevant, but the point is-- little kids talked about that stuff and idolized those guys.

I never saw any actual astronauts in person like you, but I did meet Major Mudd at the Sportsmen's Show, so......pretty much the same thing.

Ha, ha, Major Mudd was a hero of mine!

But the space program was so <i>exciting!</i> I couldn't understand people being bored with it by the time Apollo 13 shot off into space (the movie showed that very well with only one (?) of the Big Three networks bothering to show the lift-off or shots from the capsule). Of course, let there be life-threatening circumstances, then the ghouls tune in.

Astronauts were the glamour boys of the '60s. NASA did a great job of pushing the extremely competent image, even after the disaster with the Apollo 1 astronauts losing their lives during a test on the launch pad, but now we know how tremendously risky every spaceshot was. Courage didn't even begin to cover it. This was totally uncharted territory, and that quote about astronauts' lives being in the hands of the lowest bidder was sadly true.

Though here in New England the city of Worcester contributed several items to the space program, including anti-G suits. John Glenn wore a headset manufactured by a Worcester company (David Clark Co.) during his 1962 flight, and Ed White wore a suit during the first spacewalk in 1965 from the same company, among other items and companies in ye olde mill town.

 

[BostonTim]

That's awesome that you got to see those guys.

It was awesome. The most impressive thing I'd seen since Kittyhawk.

Cheers

 

[bideau]

Though here in New England the city of Worcester contributed several items to the space program, including anti-G suits. John Glenn wore a headset manufactured by a Worcester company (David Clark Co.) during his 1962 flight, and Ed White wore a suit during the first spacewalk in 1965 from the same company, among other items and companies in ye olde mill town.

Not to be forgotten, Worcester also contributed Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocket science.