CBS NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: FRIENDSHIP 7 AND JOHN GLENN (TV)
Summary
This "CBS News Special Report" presents the "premiere showing of the official film of America's first orbital flight," the 1962 Project Mercury flight of the Friendship 7 space capsule containing astronaut Lt. Col. John Glenn, who became the first U.S. citizen to orbit planet Earth. In addition to the official film, this program features narration by Walter Cronkite and the recollections of the astronaut himself. Highlights include coverage of the following: Glenn suits up at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the morning of Feb. 20, 1962; Mercury Control runs a communications check on all of the tracking stations; Glenn travels to the launching pad; Glenn recalls his feelings before the flight; Glenn enters the space capsule; the countdown begins at T minus 10 seconds and lift-off is achieved; Glenn appears inside the capsule as his flight gets approval for multiple orbits; Glenn communicates with tracking stations; Glenn gives his impressions of space flight; Glenn speaks briefly with capsule communicators Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard; a problem with the capsule's automatic control forces Glenn to fly the capsule manually; a Mercury Control signal indicates the capsule's heat shield is loose; Lt. Col. John "Shorty" Powers of Mercury Control announces Friendship 7 is cleared for a third and final orbit; Cronkite outlines the heat shield problem; retro-rockets are fired as re-entry begins; and the capsule splashes down and it is recovered. In the studio, Glenn and Cronkite discuss the heat shield problem. Includes a commercial for Colgate which states, "More future spacemen and their families help stop bad breath, help fight decay by brushing after eating with Colgate Dental Cream...."
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: April 9, 1962 Monday 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:20
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T81:0301
- GENRE: News
- SUBJECT HEADING: Friendship 7; Manned space flight; Space exploration; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1962
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Colgate
CREDITS
- William B. Crawford … Producer¥
- Don Hewitt … Producer¥
- Eugene Keefer … Producer, For NASA and General Dynamics
- Richard Richter … Production (Misc.), News Associate
- Walter Cronkite … Reporter
- John Glenn … Guest
- Alan Shepard
- Powers, John "Shorty"
- L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.