OT: John Glenn dead at 95

[EngDawg]

First American to orbit the Earth, Last remaining member of the Mercury Seven.

Godspeed John Glenn

 

[bbqbully]

A true American hero. WWII, Korea, test pilot, astronaut, and senator. He served his country well.

 

[aTotal360]

John Glen and Ted Williams flew combat missions together over Korea. True American badasses. We desperately need more guys like these.

 

[EngDawg]

Read Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff." These guys were real men.

 

[patdog]

Excellent book. The mortality rate of test pilots back then was astronomical. They'd bury their friend and fellow test pilot and then go right back out there.

 

[PineGroveBully]

One of my favorite movies. I stop everytime I see it on. No Buck, No Buck Rogers. 17'n A Bubba

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

The Germans at NASA wanted the Rocket fully automated

No need for a pilot. The Mercury Astronauts (all fighter jocks to a man) wanted a stick. Good thing John glenn had control because his Computer controls went all haywire and he had to manually re-enter orbit.

 

[EngDawg]

Movie is good, but the book is way better. Only in the book can Wolfe's take on the ethos of the Test Pilots and Astronauts be fully expounded upon.

 

[PineGroveBully]

That is why its so amazing that we never lost a man in space (not forgetting the 3 on the pad when they couldn't escape the burning capsule) until Challenger when computer power was so infantile. I wouldn't trust my computer to get me to Chicago, much less into and out of orbit 50 years ago. That's why it had to be test pilots, they had to make life or death decisions in a split second knowing they were sitting on top of souped up intercontinental ballistic missile. When they wanted to send up the chimp the line was so true where they say something like "the chimp doesn't know he may not come back." Outside of democracy and medical advances, I still believe escaping the gravity of earth is mans greatest achievement.

 

[PineGroveBully]

Gene Kranz's Failure is not an Option and Jim Lovell's Lost Moon are great also. I know this isn't the place to show my softer side, but Lovell having a fur coat delivered to his wife while orbiting the moon on Apollo 9 on Christmas Day with the note "Merry Christmas from the man in the moon" was top notch.

 

[tcdog70]

he was also on NAME THAT TUNE--with the Sip's Little Eddie Hodges. Way before He was an Astronaut.

 

[patdog]

We've still never lost a man (or woman) in space. Challenger and Columbia accidents happened in the atmosphere.

 

[thekimmer]

We've still never lost a man (or woman) in space. Challenger and Columbia accidents happened in the atmosphere.

Yep. All 17 spaceflight related deaths in the US took place inside the atmosphere which proves the argument that the greatest threats to life safety in manned space exploration are the dynamic forces required to get into and return from space more so than the dangers faced once you get there.

There have been accidents in space but those generally give you some time to react and respond whereas a failure in the atmosphere tend to be immediately catastrophic.