Jeff Shesol

> The engineers had replicated, exactly, the skating effect Glenn had experienced in orbit—the problem with the ASCS. “Wow,” he said, “you hit that on the money. That’s exactly what I saw. What in heaven’s name could cause it to do that?” Schepp had the answer. “The switch—” he began, but Glenn cut him off; he got it right away. “Crap!” he burst out. “I forgot that was there!” It had been part of his training, but only recently. The switch had been a late addition to the design—a concession to the astronauts, who had insisted on the ability to fly facing forward part of the time. When they did, they were supposed to flip the switch to reset their orientation. But as Glenn said: he’d forgotten. So while his capsule flew forward, its autopilot, in effect, believed it was still flying backward and sent it farther and farther out of alignment.… (mere)

5757. Mercury Rising John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War, by Jeff Shesol (read 29 Sep 2021) This account of the 1962 Mercury project, published in 2021, is a superlative telling of the events of the early 1960s and of John Glenn's triple orbiting of the earth in February 1962. Even though I closely followed the events of that time this telling is so exciting I was utterly absorbed by the book, and continually needed to remind myself as I read that John Glenn not only survived but went on to serve as a U.S. Senator from Ohio. I never had any doubt as I read that the book deserved five stars. No matter how much you have read about space events this is a book you will want to read.… (mere)

A compelling history of the Mercury space program, it's failures, triumphs, and it's political and cultural significance. Culminating in a tense, almost thriller like, account of John Glenn’s orbital flight and it's impact on a troubled US in the early 1960s. Well researched and written; I certainly discovered some things I'd not read elsewhere about the Mercury missions.

But perhaps this book’s greatest achievement is adding depth and nuance to the character of John Glenn who is all too often depicted as a the one dimensional “straight-laced puritan” of the astronaut corp. This account shows him as a man with fears, flaws, and hopes alongside the driven focused work ethic. Highly recommended if you have any interest in the early days of space flight.… (mere)