Home Trending July 18 – An Astronaut Is Born

July 18 – An Astronaut Is Born

By
Michael Knox
-
nPostednon July 18, 2013

n

n
n

n

nTodaynis International Mandela Day, a day to celebrate the life and wisdomnof Nelson Mandela, who once said, “We can change the world and makenit a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.” (Seenthe link below for more on Mandela.)

n

n
n

n

nIt’snMandela’s day because it is his birthday, but it is also the birthdaynof one of the most famous astronauts in U.S. history, John Glenn.

n

n
n

n

nHere’snwhat John Glenn once said: “It was quite a day. I don’t know whatnyou could say about a day in which you have seen four beautifulnsunsets.”

n

n
n

n

nFOURnsunsets in one day? I bet you can tell that Glenn said that afternbeing in outer space!

n

n
n

n

nJohnnGlenn followed a career in the military as a fighter pilot by being antest pilot and one of the first American astronauts. He was THE firstnAmerican to orbit the Earth, circling the globe three times in almostnfive hours. Here are some interesting facts about this historicnflight:

n

n
n

n

    n
  • nThen people in the town of Perth, Australia, turned on all theirn lights—house lights, car headlights, and of coursen streetlights—while Glenn was passing overhead. He said that hen could clearly see the city from space, and Perth became known as then “City of Light”!

    n

    • n

n

n
n

n

n

n

    n
  • nGlenn’sn spacecraft was called Friendship 7. He carried with him an note that read in several different languages, “I amn a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there willn be a massive reward for you in eternity.” This note was to be usedn if the capsule splashed down in the remote South Pacific Ocean. (I’mn not sure why the note had to clarify that Glenn was a stranger!n Don’t you think any people he encountered in the remote Southn Pacific would know that?)

    n

    • n

n

n
n

n

    n
  • n Ann indicator said that Glenn’s heat shield had come loose. There wasn’tn much that anyone could do—if the heat shield failed, the capsulen would burn up—but the flight controllers had Glenn keep hisn retrorocket pack over the shield to try to keep it in place. Ofn course, the capsule splashed down safely. It turned out that then shield was fine, and the indicator was faulty!

    n

    • n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nWhennGlenn retired from NASA, he became a U.S. Senator for the state ofnOhio for 25 years. At age 77, in 1998, Glenn went back into space—thenoldest human ever to do so! He was part of a 9-day Space Shuttlenprogram designed to measure effects of space travel on the elderly.nOf course, the program was also perfect for research on the effectsnof space travel on the same person at two different points of lifen(his flights being 36 years apart!). n

n

n

n

nBy the way, the City of Light, Perth, Australia, lived up to its name with all its lights turned on again for Glenn during that Shuttle mission! How nice!

n

n
n

n

nAlsonon this date:

n

n

n

n

n

nActivist and statesman Nelson Mandela’s birthday

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nAnniversary of a perfect game 
n

n
n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nExtremenVehicle Day
n

n

n

n
n

n

n

n

nPlannahead:

n

n
n

n

nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.

n

n
n

n

nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Augustnholidays, historicalnanniversaries in August,nand Augustnbirthdays.

n

n
n

n
n

n
n
See also  July 3, 2011 - Independence Day – Belarus

RELATED ARTICLES

NO COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Exit mobile version