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Into Orbit
PRE-ISBN
By the seven astronauts of Project Mercury.
From the front and back dustjacket endpapers:
“This is an historic account of how the Astronauts of Project Mercury reconnoitred and bravely crossed the threshold of space; years hence, when men travel daily to the moon and beyond, they will learn from this book of the dedication and courage of these perilous beginnings. For us, now, it tells of the opening of a new era.
On 20 February 1962, an Atlas rocket lifted from its launching pad at Cape Canaveral and carried John Glenn into space to orbit the earth three times in four and a half hours. The years of planning, of trial and error, had culminated in a voyage of exploration that even a short time ago was still in the realms of Wellsian fantasy. On that February morning, a remarkable man and a remarkable machine came together, and unlike their Russian counterparts, they all made their challenge where all the world could see and hear, whether they succeeded or failed.
That they succeeded, that three months later on 24 May, Scott Carpenter was also catapulted into space to orbit the earth three times, is known to us all. But HOW they succeeded, what went on in the tortuous years of planning and training and, finally, in the lonely confines of a capsule hurtling round the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, is the substance of this book.
Both Glenn and Carpenter give their own accounts of their awesome discovery of space; Shepard and Grissom, the first of the Astronauts to break the restraining bonds of atmosphere, describe the effects of being literally blasted off the face of the earth. Each of the seven astronauts who have endured the long years of training and experiment in Project Mercury tells of his contribution to the development of the multitude of devices and the complicated systems designed to launch, control, track and recover the space capsule and its pilot.
For space travel enthusiasts there is a great deal of technical information provided by the men who have lived with Project Mercury since its inception. For those who see this incredible achievement as a magnificent adventure there are thrilling first-hand accounts by the men who took their lives into their hands and dared to leave the earth behind them.”
By the seven astronauts of Project Mercury.
From the front and back dustjacket endpapers:
“This is an historic account of how the Astronauts of Project Mercury reconnoitred and bravely crossed the threshold of space; years hence, when men travel daily to the moon and beyond, they will learn from this book of the dedication and courage of these perilous beginnings. For us, now, it tells of the opening of a new era.
On 20 February 1962, an Atlas rocket lifted from its launching pad at Cape Canaveral and carried John Glenn into space to orbit the earth three times in four and a half hours. The years of planning, of trial and error, had culminated in a voyage of exploration that even a short time ago was still in the realms of Wellsian fantasy. On that February morning, a remarkable man and a remarkable machine came together, and unlike their Russian counterparts, they all made their challenge where all the world could see and hear, whether they succeeded or failed.
That they succeeded, that three months later on 24 May, Scott Carpenter was also catapulted into space to orbit the earth three times, is known to us all. But HOW they succeeded, what went on in the tortuous years of planning and training and, finally, in the lonely confines of a capsule hurtling round the earth at seventeen thousand miles an hour, is the substance of this book.
Both Glenn and Carpenter give their own accounts of their awesome discovery of space; Shepard and Grissom, the first of the Astronauts to break the restraining bonds of atmosphere, describe the effects of being literally blasted off the face of the earth. Each of the seven astronauts who have endured the long years of training and experiment in Project Mercury tells of his contribution to the development of the multitude of devices and the complicated systems designed to launch, control, track and recover the space capsule and its pilot.
For space travel enthusiasts there is a great deal of technical information provided by the men who have lived with Project Mercury since its inception. For those who see this incredible achievement as a magnificent adventure there are thrilling first-hand accounts by the men who took their lives into their hands and dared to leave the earth behind them.”
- GenresSpace
252 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
John Glenn
38 books15 followersJohn Herschel Glenn, Jr. was a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original astronaut group. He orbited the Earth in Friendship 7 in 1962. After retiring from NASA, he entered politics as a Democrat and represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1974 to 1999.
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January 27, 2015
A most fascinating read immediately after Michael Collins’ “Carrying The Fire”. This book, “Into Orbit” took me back, to Project Mercury: the first seven astronauts who were challenged to achieve the goal of manned orbit around the earth. A major strand of the beginnings of our computer and technological age.
A delicious indication of the uncertainty of the whole project is summarised by Glenn. He observes the sheer awkwardness of not knowing where and when problems will crop up; given how so much of their work was novel; ”…so many ‘firsts’ to be accomplished …” (p.39).
At the risk of sounding flippant, one of those ‘firsts’ overcome, which made me smile, is that mentioned by Gus Grissom. He describes his and Glenn’s “low residue diet” of strained orange juice, filet mignon and poached egg (p.123). Then 9to use an English phrease) the penny drops. There was, of course, no lavatory in a Mercury capsule. Indeed there was no accommodation whatsoever for human creature comforts of any sort. Minimising weight was critical, due to the small(er) size of the Atlas and Redstone rockets used, compared to the later behemoth Saturn rockets which launched the Apollo missions.
John Glenn describes the every higher premium placed on miniaturisation, as automatic systems were doubled-up to incorporate redundancies. It was not difficult to deduce that the safety of the astronaut was of vital importance to a democratically elected government which, wishing to remain in political power, funded its Space programme through the dollars of its taxpayers.
This book, though an anthology of chapters contributed by every one of the ‘Mercury Seven’ somehow manages to read, very neatly, as though it were the work of one. Was there an anonymous ghost-writer in the background? I prefer to think that the Seven were consumed by their passion for their common cause, such that in talking a common technical language, it should really not be at all surprising to find their writing styles very similar. They have produced what is largely a technical exposition of their work and achievements, but one that can be happily read by those with a healthy sense of curiosity with or without a technical background. Collins’ book is much better written, but for now “Into Orbit” finds a home on my bookshelves, I know that I shall want to read it again another day.
A delicious indication of the uncertainty of the whole project is summarised by Glenn. He observes the sheer awkwardness of not knowing where and when problems will crop up; given how so much of their work was novel; ”…so many ‘firsts’ to be accomplished …” (p.39).
At the risk of sounding flippant, one of those ‘firsts’ overcome, which made me smile, is that mentioned by Gus Grissom. He describes his and Glenn’s “low residue diet” of strained orange juice, filet mignon and poached egg (p.123). Then 9to use an English phrease) the penny drops. There was, of course, no lavatory in a Mercury capsule. Indeed there was no accommodation whatsoever for human creature comforts of any sort. Minimising weight was critical, due to the small(er) size of the Atlas and Redstone rockets used, compared to the later behemoth Saturn rockets which launched the Apollo missions.
John Glenn describes the every higher premium placed on miniaturisation, as automatic systems were doubled-up to incorporate redundancies. It was not difficult to deduce that the safety of the astronaut was of vital importance to a democratically elected government which, wishing to remain in political power, funded its Space programme through the dollars of its taxpayers.
This book, though an anthology of chapters contributed by every one of the ‘Mercury Seven’ somehow manages to read, very neatly, as though it were the work of one. Was there an anonymous ghost-writer in the background? I prefer to think that the Seven were consumed by their passion for their common cause, such that in talking a common technical language, it should really not be at all surprising to find their writing styles very similar. They have produced what is largely a technical exposition of their work and achievements, but one that can be happily read by those with a healthy sense of curiosity with or without a technical background. Collins’ book is much better written, but for now “Into Orbit” finds a home on my bookshelves, I know that I shall want to read it again another day.
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