How John Glenn Became an Astronaut, as Told in 1962

5 minute read

Astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and the third in space, died Thursday. A former U.S. Senator from Ohio, he was 95.

Glenn landed on the cover of the March 2, 1962, issue of TIME after circling the globe three times in 4 hours and 56 minutes—at speeds of more than 17,000 mph—on Feb. 20, 1962.

The achievement came 10 months after Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space and made one full orbit around Earth (April 12, 1961) and nine months after Alan Shepard became the first American in space (May 5, 1961), followed by Gus Grissom (July 21, 1961). Thus, his mission was a critical step in the American mission to win the Cold War in space by fulfilling President John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s commitment to “achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

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TIME launched its profile of Glenn by pointing out that the grandeur of the undertaking was quite matched by the affect of the man: “In his flight across the heavens, John Glenn was a latter-day Apollo, flashing through the unknown, sending his cool observations and random comments to the earth in radio thunderbolts, acting as though orbiting the earth were his everyday occupation. Back on earth, Glenn seemed to be quite a different fellow—an enormously appealing man, to be sure, but as normal as blueberry pie.”

The Ohio native’s life had indeed started out in complete normalcy: he spent his time playing football and basketball, and reading Buck Rogers. He later joined the Marine Corps, becoming a decorated test pilot and a combat flyer, earning the rank of colonel. (Ted Williams, the legendary Red Sox left fielder who was also a Marine pilot, told TIME, “The man is crazy,” referring to the way he apparently liked to show off his flying skill in dangerous stunts.) But, though his achievements as a pilot were notable, as a career it was still within the range of ordinary.

So how did he get to be an astronaut? TIME explained:

Early in his career, Glenn developed the art of “sniveling.” Explains Marine Lieut. Colonel Richard Rainforth, who flew beside Glenn in both World War II and Korea: “Sniveling, among pilots, means to work yourself into a program, whether it happens to be your job or not. Sniveling is perfectly legitimate, and Johnny is a great hand at it.” In 1957 Glenn sniveled the Marines into letting him try to beat the speed of sound from coast to coast. Flying an F8U, Glenn failed by nine minutes, but he did knock 23 1/2 min. off the coast-to-coast speed record by covering the distance in 3 hr. 23 min. at an average speed of 726 m.p.h.

Then, in 1959, Glenn resolutely set out to snivel his way into the toughest program of all: Project Mercury. He started with two handicaps: he lacked a college degree, and, at 37, he was considered to be an old man. But Glenn managed to get permission to go along as an “observer” with one prime candidate of the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. When the candidate failed an early test, recalls Rainforth, “Johnny stepped up, chest high, and offered himself as a candidate. They took him.”

…Candidate Glenn and 510 others were run through a wringer of mental and physical tests. Doctors charted their brain waves, skewered their hands with electrodes to pick up the electrical impulses that would tell how quickly their muscles responded to nerve stimulation. Glenn held up tenaciously under tests of heat and vibration, did especially well with problems of logical reasoning. Says Dr. Stanley White, a Project Mercury physician: “Glenn is a guy who lives by facts.”

To the surprise of no one who ever knew him, Glenn was one of the seven former test pilots who were picked to become the nation’s first astronauts.

In terms of what it felt like to be in space, he reported “no ill effects at all” from zero gravity and described weightlessness as “something you could get addicted to.” It was also “hot” inside the Friendship 7 capsule at times; at one point, the temperature hit 108º in the cabin. He saw four “beautiful” sunsets and said nightfall in space is akin to nightfall in the desert “on a very clear, brilliant night when there’s no moon and the stars just seem to jump out at you.”

John Glenn: Rare and Classic Photos From an American Life

John Glenn, Project Mercury astronaut, 1959.
John Glenn, Project Mercury astronaut, 1959.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Wally Schirra, John Glenn, and the rest of the Mercury 7 astronauts examine samples of cockpit glass during training, 1959.
Not published in LIFE. Wally Schirra, John Glenn, and the rest of the Mercury 7 astronauts examine samples of cockpit glass during training, 1959.Hank Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
The original Mercury 7 astronauts (from left: Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter -- the man who spoke the famous and moving words, "Godspeed, John Glenn," during the countdown before Glenn's 1962 orbital flight -- Alan Shepard, and Wally Schirra) inspect an early design of a space program module.
Not published in LIFE. The original Mercury 7 astronauts (from left: Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter -- the man who spoke the famous and moving words, "Godspeed, John Glenn," during the countdown before Glenn's 1962 orbital flight -- Alan Shepard, and Wally Schirra) inspect an early design of a space program module.Hank Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn does his astronauts' homework, Florida, 1959.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn does his astronauts' homework, Florida, 1959.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn, Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard with their families, Cape Canaveral, 1961.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn, Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard with their families, Cape Canaveral, 1961.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Glenn, Grissom, Shepard, and Schirra relax during a photo call in the midst of Project Mercury training, 1962.
Not published in LIFE. Glenn, Grissom, Shepard, and Schirra relax during a photo call in the midst of Project Mercury training, 1962.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn in training on the beach, Florida, 1961.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn in training on the beach, Florida, 1961.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn eats a meal, surrounded by media, prior to his historic February 1962 orbital flight.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn eats a meal, surrounded by media, prior to his historic February 1962 orbital flight.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Lt. Col. John Glenn walks to his spacecraft, Friendship 7, on a training exercise prior to his February 1962 orbital flight.
Not published in LIFE. Lt. Col. John Glenn walks to his spacecraft, Friendship 7, on a training exercise prior to his February 1962 orbital flight.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
President Kennedy greets Lt. Col. John Glenn three days after Glenn orbited Earth three times in the Mercury capsule, Friendship 7, Florida, February 1962.
Not published in LIFE. President Kennedy greets Lt. Col. John Glenn three days after Glenn orbited Earth three times in the Mercury capsule, Friendship 7, Florida, February 1962.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn, his daughter Lyn (left), wife Annie, son David, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson at Cape Canaveral, February 22, 1962, two days after his historic orbital flight and the day before he received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal from President Kennedy.
John Glenn, his daughter Lyn (left), wife Annie, son David, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson at Cape Canaveral, February 22, 1962, two days after his historic orbital flight and the day before he received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal from President Kennedy.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn with cosmonaut German Titov (center) at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, 1962.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn with cosmonaut German Titov (center) at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, 1962.John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A sign honoring John Glenn outside Cape Canveral's famous "Hangar S," where Mercury astronauts suited up prior to flights, February 1962.
Not published in LIFE. A sign honoring John Glenn outside Cape Canveral's famous "Hangar S," where Mercury astronauts suited up prior to flights, February 1962.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A photo by LIFE's Billy Ray of Lt. Col. John Glenn flying a jet while stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, southern California, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. A photo by LIFE's Billy Ray of Lt. Col. John Glenn flying a jet while stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, southern California, 1964.Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn's wife, Annie, photographed at home in Ohio in January 1964.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn's wife, Annie, photographed at home in Ohio in January 1964.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Glenn announces his candidacy for United States Senate, Columbus, Ohio, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. John Glenn announces his candidacy for United States Senate, Columbus, Ohio, 1964.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Signed photographs of senatorial candidate John Glenn, Ohio, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. Signed photographs of senatorial candidate John Glenn, Ohio, 1964.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John and Annie Glenn campaign in Ohio, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. John and Annie Glenn campaign in Ohio, 1964.Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Colonel John Glenn and an unidentified young girl, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. Colonel John Glenn and an unidentified young girl, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964.Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Colonel John Glenn, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964
Not published in LIFE. Colonel John Glenn, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
USMC Colonel John Glenn, 1964.
Not published in LIFE. USMC Colonel John Glenn, 1964.Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

While TIME declared, “Not since Lindy had the U.S. had such a hero”—referring to Charles Lindbergh, who accomplished the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean—Glenn tried to emphasize at a press conference following his splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean that spaceflight still had a long way to go: “If you think of the enormity of space, it makes our efforts seem puny. But these are all step-by-step functions we go through. The manned flights we’ve had to date have added information. This flight, I hope, added a bit more. And there are more to come.”

Read the full cover story, here in the TIME Vault: Spaceman Glenn

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com