I just read in the news that John Glenn orbited the earth three times 50 years ago today on February 20, 1962.
I can remember feeling really scared or perhaps the correct word is terrified for Mr. Glenn as I listened to the live broadcast, especially during the time when he went through the atmosphere and there was a silence while the world waited to hear his voice. I am also under the impression that ground control also lost contact with the astronaut when he orbited to the other side of the world. No one actually KNEW for certain that the missile or the astronaut would survive the flight, the re-entry, or the ocean landing. Exciting times for sure.
I was nine years old then. It was good fortune for the 15 pupils in my little prairie school to have a teacher who recognized the significance of the event and therefore allowed and encouraged us to listen to this North American First on the very modern and newly purchased red electric radio. It had only been within the last four years that the school had even gotten electricity. I distinctly remember the clay piles that surrounded the new power poles with the guide wires that we used as part of our playground equipment..sort of a 'sliding' skin the cat game (see note).
But getting back to the topic of 50 years of space travel, it is hard to overestimate the significance of that day for the future of the world. Scientific discoveries in all of the earth sciences virtually , a word (I dare to suggest) whose meaning and common usage has even changed , exploded due to this unprecedented interest by not only by world governments but also the world's education system. No country wished to be left behind. It was the time when suddenly it was feasible for people to actually become space travellers, something only before relegated to the Superman Space Comics.
I personally followed the space program faithfully primarily through reading the daily paper at school. My Dad had it delivered to the school at noon and I would get to read it 'hot off the press' before he even saw it at the farm supper table. That newspaper was never quite folded 'right' by that time as everyone in class would have had their own look at the latest news. I could have told you during any Algebra or Gym class in my senior high school years, when an Apollo space ship was to fire a retro rocket and when and where splash down was to happen.
The Space Program was very controversial even in Canada. Our Department of Education Grade 12 English Examination included the following essay : Discuss the pros and cons of space travel in our society. Give examples of both points of view and using those points develop a reasonably logical conclusion. Humph..a lot to ask from a 17 year old prairie girl who had never even been in a plane and whose only experience with the stars were the falling ones she observed while sitting in a grain truck late at night during harvest.
No doubt it isn't really 'newsworthy' that my generation experienced great change. Everything everywhere is in a constant state of change whether its due to technology, politics or world disasters. All I am saying is that Mr. John Glenn will always be part of my little Grade 4 heart as I am sure the likes Justin Beiber and Prince Harry will be a part of today's little Grade 4 girl's memories.
Oh yes..the essay question. I wrote in FAVOUR of the Space Program.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17107817
note: Skin the Cat is an acrobatic feat that involves hanging on with two hands to what usually is a rod suspended across a grain bin (or guide wire). The person then flips their body through their arms nearly ripping their shoulder joints out of their sockets and then flipping back again. (I could never do it properly.
I can remember feeling really scared or perhaps the correct word is terrified for Mr. Glenn as I listened to the live broadcast, especially during the time when he went through the atmosphere and there was a silence while the world waited to hear his voice. I am also under the impression that ground control also lost contact with the astronaut when he orbited to the other side of the world. No one actually KNEW for certain that the missile or the astronaut would survive the flight, the re-entry, or the ocean landing. Exciting times for sure.
I was nine years old then. It was good fortune for the 15 pupils in my little prairie school to have a teacher who recognized the significance of the event and therefore allowed and encouraged us to listen to this North American First on the very modern and newly purchased red electric radio. It had only been within the last four years that the school had even gotten electricity. I distinctly remember the clay piles that surrounded the new power poles with the guide wires that we used as part of our playground equipment..sort of a 'sliding' skin the cat game (see note).
But getting back to the topic of 50 years of space travel, it is hard to overestimate the significance of that day for the future of the world. Scientific discoveries in all of the earth sciences virtually , a word (I dare to suggest) whose meaning and common usage has even changed , exploded due to this unprecedented interest by not only by world governments but also the world's education system. No country wished to be left behind. It was the time when suddenly it was feasible for people to actually become space travellers, something only before relegated to the Superman Space Comics.
I personally followed the space program faithfully primarily through reading the daily paper at school. My Dad had it delivered to the school at noon and I would get to read it 'hot off the press' before he even saw it at the farm supper table. That newspaper was never quite folded 'right' by that time as everyone in class would have had their own look at the latest news. I could have told you during any Algebra or Gym class in my senior high school years, when an Apollo space ship was to fire a retro rocket and when and where splash down was to happen.
The Space Program was very controversial even in Canada. Our Department of Education Grade 12 English Examination included the following essay : Discuss the pros and cons of space travel in our society. Give examples of both points of view and using those points develop a reasonably logical conclusion. Humph..a lot to ask from a 17 year old prairie girl who had never even been in a plane and whose only experience with the stars were the falling ones she observed while sitting in a grain truck late at night during harvest.
No doubt it isn't really 'newsworthy' that my generation experienced great change. Everything everywhere is in a constant state of change whether its due to technology, politics or world disasters. All I am saying is that Mr. John Glenn will always be part of my little Grade 4 heart as I am sure the likes Justin Beiber and Prince Harry will be a part of today's little Grade 4 girl's memories.
Oh yes..the essay question. I wrote in FAVOUR of the Space Program.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17107817
note: Skin the Cat is an acrobatic feat that involves hanging on with two hands to what usually is a rod suspended across a grain bin (or guide wire). The person then flips their body through their arms nearly ripping their shoulder joints out of their sockets and then flipping back again. (I could never do it properly.
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