Astronauts recall glory days

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — All four surviving Mercury astronauts returned to their launch site Sunday to celebrate 40 years of orbital flight.

John Glenn became the first American to circle the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, followed by Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper.

"It’s hard to believe that 40 years have gone by," Glenn, 80, told an afternoon crowd at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "It seems more like 40 days because that event back then was so vividly impressed on me at the time and I guess we’ve recalled it almost daily, talking to someone almost every day since."

The four astronauts spoke from an outdoor stage surrounded by rockets, including a Mercury Atlas like the one that they rode into orbit.

"We have proven, the four of us, that flying an Atlas is 100 percent safe," said Carpenter, 76.

Glenn, Carpenter, Schirra and Cooper were the only men to fly on a Mercury Atlas. America’s first two space shots, by Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, were on Redstone rockets and just 15-minute suborbital flights.

The astronauts paid tribute to their dead Mercury colleagues, Shepard, Grissom and Deke Slayton, who never flew in Project Mercury but finally made it to space on the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission.

Schirra said competition among the original Mercury seven was "pretty keen in those days." But he said they supported each other and still do.

Glenn said any of the Mercury astronauts could have been the first American to orbit the Earth.

"This was an interesting combination of seven men that I don’t think has ever happened before or since," Schirra, 78, told reporters earlier in the day. "The seven of us have been bonded for life by those early days. It’s a great feeling to be together again."

Cooper, 74, urged the space center crowd of tourists and past and present employees to pressure the government so "we won’t have to wait another 40 years to get to Mars."

"First times are hard to come by today," Carpenter said. "But in the future, I would imagine that the same kind of excitement that attended all of the Mercury flights in the ’60s will come back in maybe the ’20s or maybe the ’30s when we fly to Mars. Then the public excitement will return."

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Judge sentences man for role in human smuggling ring

Jesus Ortiz-Plata was arrested in Everett in May 2024. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

Bill Wood, right, Donnie Griffin, center right, and Steve Hatzenbeler, left, listen and talk with South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman, center left, during an Edmonds Civic Roundtable event to discuss the RFA annexation on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds community discusses annexation into the regional fire authority

About 100 residents attended the Edmonds Civic Roundtable discussion in preparation for the April special election.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Timothy Evans, a volunteer at the east Everett cold weather shelter, with his dog Hammer on Monday, Feb. 10 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Temporary shelter opens in Everett during unusually cold weather

The shelter will open nightly until Feb. 14. Help is needed at the new location, as well as six others across the county.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens schools bond leading early; Arlington voters reject latest levy attempt

A $314 million bond looks to pass while Arlington’s attempts to build a new Post Middle School again appear to take a step back.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.