Friendship 7's Flight 50 Years Ago

As a child, I remembered asking my parents to go outside into the backyard to see if I could look up in the sky to see the Mercury capsule that was supposely flying over Texas at the time.

I would have been 2-3 years old when that happened and this memory just came up while thinking about the true meaning of this post... 50 years ago, one John Glenn Jr. in his capsule, the Friendship 7; soared into history.

Glenn's flight also marked the first time that NASA used the Atlas rocket to launch a manned Mercury capsule.

Only three orbits were made.  A decision was made to end the flight sooner rather than later due to the heat shield issue.  Glenn survived the successful re-entry by keeping the thruster pack in place - thus hold the heat shield in place.  He became a hero at that point and there was no turning back.  Politics kept him on the ground after that flight.

Fifty years is a long time.  We still have the USAF B-52s and C-130s still flying (aircraft can always be upgraded).  As for space, the Atlas has grown into the Atlas V and it too (in a sense, is still flying).

United Launch Alliance is prepping the Atlas V to be able to take three different types of spacecraft up to the International Space Station. Boeing has the CST-100 spacecraft that they are building. Then there is Sierra Nevada Corp's Dream Chaser mini-shuttle that can be stuck on top of a Atlas V.

But, getting back to John Glenn now.  He denies it, but the movie and book title "The Right Stuff" is firmly attached to his name for the rest of eternity.

Quoting the NSS blog post:  “A true American hero, Glenn ushered in American orbital spaceflight 50 years ago and brought the U.S. into the space age in earnest,” said NSS Executive Director Paul E. Damphousse.  “His service to this nation reminds us of the bravery, determination, and excitement needed to achieve these ambitious goals – we hope his example will serve to further motivate our progress in space.” end quote.

Let's also not forget that SENATOR John Glenn also has the record for being the oldest person (so far) to have travel in space.  He flew on STS-95 (shuttle Discovery) at the ripe old age of 77 for a nine-day mission.

John Glenn Jr. is a member of the NSS Board of Governors and NSS Executive Director Paul E. Damphousse added this quote:  “We expect to build upon his legacy as we advance our goals in space over the next 50 years.”  end quote.



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Ref.
1. SpaceFrontier.org."Friendship 7’s legacy is safe with Commercial Crew" by Space Fontier Foundation.  February 20, 2012. ( http://spacefrontier.org/2012/02/20/friendship-7s-legacy/ ).
2. NSS Blog. "NSS Salutes John Glenn on 50th Anniversary of Friendship 7 Space Flight" February 20, 2012. (http://blog.nss.org/?p=3300).
3. image from nasa files of Atlas/Frendship 7 launch. (http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-000686.jpg).

Orbital Sciences Corp Offers Up Shuttle Replacement

The Dulles, Viginia, based Orbital Scien

ces Corp. announced on Tuesday, that it had

officially submitted a proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to build a winged space vehicle for astronaut transportation to and from earth orbit once NASA’s space shuttle is retired.

The design is of the "blended lifting body" type. Its design history goes back to 2002/2003 when Orbital did a study for NASA back then. The vehicle is designed with four seats allowing room for commercial passengers.

This new vehicle would normally use the Atlas V rocket as its booster and return for a conventional landing on a runway after its mission was completed.

Lockheed Martin Corp however, is going along with a capsule sim

ilar to Apollo/Orion with parachute landing.

My personal opinion on this matter is that I hope Orbital beats the pants off of the Lochkeed Martin proposal. Does anybody remember VentureStar? I personally do not want to see our nation just turns its back to the idea of a winged spacecraft that is able to land on a regular runway.

UPDATE December 18, 2010: At the NASA Dryden space center, a 15% scale model of Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spacecraft design was test dropped from a helicopter.

The company's full size version is based upon NASA's HL-20 lifting body. The Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) Dream Chaser is designed to carry up to seven people to the ISS and back. It will be launched vertically on a Atlas V rocket and recover horizontally on conventional runways.

Using a Bell 206B3 Jet Ranger helicopter, the model was attached to a 100-foot long cable and dropped from an altitude of 14,000 feet. Landing this time was done via a parachute. The scale model was built by a team of experts from SNC and the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU).

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Ref.

1. Bizjournals.com "Orbital Sciences proposes shuttle replacement" by Tucker Echols. December 15, 2010.(http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2010/12/15/orbital-proposes-shuttle-replace.html).

2.SpaceFellowship.com (http://spacefellowship.com/news/art24418/orbital-submits-proposal-for-nasa-s-commercial-crew-development-program.html).

3. Update link "Dream Chaser Model Drops in at NASA Dryden" (http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewsr.rss.html?pid=35563).