posted 02-19-2012 03:09 PM               

An Atlas missile postcard has a startling message for its recipient in Branford, Missouri, and mailed by Eva and Hank in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Their message says, "Just saw Glenn go up, something we will never forget," postmarked on February 20, 1962, the date of John Glenn's launch into space and orbit in Friendship 7 and Mercury Atlas-6 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Cocoa Beach was a favorite place for visitors in the area to watch missile launches at the nearby missile base.

Astronaut John Glenn blasts-off at 9:47 EST, February 20, 1962, from launch complex-14, into a clear blue sky at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Five minutes and twenty seconds later, he earns his astronaut badge (astronaut wings) in becoming America's first astronaut to orbit the Earth.

After his 3 orbit and 4 hour and 55 minute spaceflight in Friendship 7, John Glenn is recovered by U.S. Navy destroyer USS Noa, DD-841, seventeen minutes after splashing down near Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas. The USS Noa primary recovery ship cover pictured is believed to be one of the best examples of PRS USS Noa covers with PM in the ship's hand cancel making it a very rare cover. These covers are among the most difficult covers for a collector to find concerning Glenn's recovery.

Space Cover #149, Glenn Fever!

"That view is tremendous!" exclaims astronaut John Glenn looking backwards at Cape Canaveral, Florida, as Mercury Atlas-6 thunders-away from launch complex-14, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, and rapidly accelerating into space and Earth orbit early in the morning of February 20, 1962. In his spacecraft, Friendship 7, astronaut Glenn, America's first astronaut to orbit the Earth, is awestruck, "Can see clear back, a big cloud pattern way back across toward the Cape. Beautiful sight!" The United States is in space with astronaut John Glenn in his spacecraft Friendship 7.

John Glenn's planned spaceflight in Friendship 7 had ambitious objectives to accomplish. Glenn's flight would evaluate the performance of the Mercury Atlas astronaut-spacecraft system during his three-orbit mission. His flight also would ascertain the effects of orbital space flight on an astronaut. Most importantly, Glenn's flight would provide an astronaut's evaluation of the operational suitability of the spacecraft and supporting systems for manned space flight. His flight would also validate NASA's approach to validate the U.S. space program in the eyes of the world, no small feat in itself. The morning of February 20, 1962 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, an estimated 100 million people watch Glenn's spectacular launch in spacecraft Friendship 7 on Mercury Atlas-6, via live television coverage of his launch at Cape Canaveral.

It had been very difficult to get to this point. Previous attempts by NASA engineers to launch had resulted in mission scrubs on January 23, January 27, January 30, and then, February 12, February 14, February 15, February 16, and February 18, 1962. With excellent weather on February 20, 1962, at 9:47 am EST, John Glenn in Friendship 7 blasts-off in rocket Mercury Atlas-6, at launch complex-14, en route to orbit. As he thunders-away from Cape Canaveral, Glenn, also a distinguished military test pilot, yells above the roar of the Mercury Atlas-6 main rocket engines, "All spacecraft systems 'Go'!"

In orbit passing over Australia and observing his first sunrise from space, Glenn has a very unusual comment, "I'll try to describe what I'm in here. I am in a big mass of some very small particles that are brilliantly lit up like they're luminescent. I never saw anything like it. They're round, a little. They're coming by the capsule, and they look like little stars. A whole shower of them coming by. They swirl around the capsule and go in front of the window and they're all brilliantly lighted!" John Glenn's report of "space fireflies" captures the World's imagination and brings a human perspective to his orbital spaceflight in Friendship 7.

Four hours and twenty-one minutes into his flight and completing his final orbit, Glenn is told to check his landing bag deployment light. His spacecraft indicates to ground that the landing bag has already deployed. If this is true, Glenn will not survive his fiery reentry back through the atmosphere. CapCom Wally Schirra tells him to leave his retropack on until he passes Texas, without explanation. Approaching Florida, Cape CapCom Alan Shepard tells Glenn he will be landing with his retropack on. Shepard's last recommendation is not heard as Glenn plunges back through the Earth's atmosphere, flying Friendship 7 by wire. Glenn watches stunned and in silence as a huge flaming part of the capsule's retropack and its metal securing straps burn away and fly by his capsule window.

The remaining pieces of the retropack burn away and g-force start to build on Glenn. He knows what this is like from his earlier astronaut centrifuge training. As g-force drives him back into his flight seat, he has difficulty actually moving his flight controls and cannot dampen-out the spacecraft's rocking motion by firing the spacecraft's yaw and roll rocket thrusters. Everything is happening too quickly to control things. As Glenn's fiery reentry slowly subsides, he thinks he is through his reentry fireball with 7 g's holding him back in his flight seat. Finally, he hears Alan Shepard on radio say, "Seven, how do you read me, over? Relieved and having regained radio contact with the CapCom, he knows he is out of the ionosphere and passing through the Earth's lower atmosphere at approximately 100,000 feet altitude.

Shepard tells him, "Your impact point is within one mile of the up-range destroyer," in the landing area. Glenn knows that he is plummeting towards the Atlantic Ocean in a one and a half ton non-aerodynamic spacecraft at 1,000 feet per second. Another problem! Either his parachute will deploy or it will not deploy! With the spacecraft rocking back and forth more than anticipated, Glenn thinks part of his retropack somehow must still be attached causing this unexplained rocking and unstable condition of the spacecraft. He can't wait any longer, and he reaches up to manually deploy his parachute, but he can't do it. He's too late.

The automatic deployment system for the parachute has already deployed the initial drogue parachute and then behind it, the main parachute. Glenn again is thrown back into his flight seat and sees out the window that the sky is a beautiful clear blue, and it appears to be a bright sunny day near Grand Turk Island near his anticipated splashdown point. He fixedly stares at his console, too. On the console, the landing bag light is green, and there is nothing wrong with his spacecraft's landing bag. There also is nothing wrong with his capsule's heat shield. The recovery destroyer USS Noa has seen his splashdown into the Atlantic and is on its way to recover him and his spacecraft. Glenn says further to Shepard, "...that was a real fireball, boy!" It is a very rough splashdown as Friendship 7 smacks down into the ocean. John Glenn waits inside his capsule in three foot swells of the Atlantic for USS Noa to arrive at Friendship 7's splashdown position. Glenn sees it is a beautiful day in the Atlantic Ocean near Grand Turk Island, only 300 miles from where he had launched that morning. The recovery ship is 17 minutes away, but John Glenn knows that he has done it. Glenn's mission in Friendship 7 is a tremendous success!

Upon confirmation of Glenn's successful recovery by USS Noa near Grand Turk Island, the U.S. Post Office releases a surprise Project Mercury stamp that was designed and produced in secret by post office employees on the weekends and late at night in Washington, D.C. in the run-up to Glenn's epic spaceflight. Above is shown a Fleetwood first day cover with the newly released Project Mercury stamp, cancelled February 20, 1962, PM, the date of Glenn's recovery. Had Glenn not survived his mission, the Project Mercury stamp would not have been issued.

posted 02-20-2012 07:15 AM               

While the USS Noa was the actual recovery ship, the USS Randolph was the designated Primary Recovery Ship. In addition, Glenn and his Mercury capsule were transferred from the Noa to the Randolph after recovery. Below is a very desirable Captain's Cover from the Randolph. The browning on the add-on label is common on these covers and is due to the glue used.

posted 02-20-2012 06:26 PM               

Dennis, the postcard shown is one I bought for a dollar walking out of the Perryville postcard show we occasionally would go to. I literally was skunked at the show finding very little and thought it was worth a chance to look through a dollar box on the way out of the show.

In regards to your comment, it is a remarkable postcard from two observers of Glenn's epic launch on his mission date, February 20, 1962,and also is a favorite postcard of mine.

posted 02-20-2012 07:08 PM               

And to top it off, the written sentiment on it, "Just saw Glenn go up, something we will never forget," is a classic in itself.

What a wonderful find, Steve, as this is the first space-related postcard I have seen with a Cocoa Beach cancellation on the day Glenn put our nation into orbit!

In my own space picture postcard collection, with hundreds and hundreds of different cards mainly produced by Koppel, Cape News Co., and CK, most of mine are in mint or unused condition.

posted 02-22-2012 06:42 PM               

I found this cover below about three years ago. It would probably not catch many collectors' attention, however upon a closer look, the cover is canceled Feb. 20, 1962, at Grand Turk Island, where Glenn was brought ashore after his flight.

Great Glenn mission covers can still be found.

posted 02-24-2012 04:30 PM               

You can read the article I wrote about this cover and John Glenn coming to Grand Turk Island 20 February 1962, by going to this page.

Also you can see a group photo of Glenn, Vice President Johnson and various people who worked at Grand Turk, (myself included) in this article.

I also prepared Project Mercury FDCs with the Cape Canaveral cancel with the same cachet as on the Grand Turk cover shown above.

posted 02-26-2012 03:01 PM               

Eddie and Joe, thank you for your additional comments on my SCOTW, and Joe, thanks for ID'ing the tracking station cover you made and had autographed by Glenn when he was transferred ashore after his historic orbital spaceflight. Your input to this continuing story is a great addition.

posted 05-17-2012 04:51 PM               

Aboard the USS Randolph was A.E. Hansen, of Los Angeles CA who was a representative of the world authority for the certification of all aviation and space records, the Federation Aeronautique International. Hansen received from Glenn the document which verified his flight for the F.A.I. records. Hansen signed my cover "Earl Hansen, NAA". I am assuming the NAA stands for National Aviation Authority. This cover is on an album page along with a picture of Hansen receiving the document from Glenn. Glenn established four national records on Feb. 20, 1962.

I've also included a scan of the picture of Earl Hanson looking at the document he received from John Glenn: