CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com. Telemetry indicates all systems go. Medical status go, … reports same, we have a little bit of telemetry drop out. … Standby to pick up IOS in about 3 minutes. Zanzibar Cap Com out.

Comm Tech

Hello, Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven. This is Indian Com Tech. …

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, going on to eye patch.

Comm Tech

Hello, Friendship Seven. Friendship Seven, IOS Com Tech. Over.

John Glenn

Hello, IOS Com Tech, Friendship Seven. Go ahead.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven. This is Indian Com Tech on HF UHF. How do you read? Over.

John Glenn

IOS, this is Friendship Seven. Do you read? Over.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven. This is Indian Com Tech on HF UHF. How- do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Indian Com Tech. Read you loud and clear on HF. Over.

Comm Tech

Hello Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven. This is Indian Com Tech on HF UHF. How do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Indian Com Tech, Friendship Seven. Loud and clear, how me?

Comm Tech

Roger, Friendship Seven, reading you loud and clear—

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Had a beautiful sunset and can see the light way out almost up to the northern horizon.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven,. … Over.

John Glenn

Indian Cap Com, I'm receiving you very garbled. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, … , now. Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap. Over.

John Glenn

Go ahead Indian Cap Com. I read you fairly good now. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Proceed with the rest of your status please. Over.

John Glenn

Say again, Indian. Over.

CAPCOM

Would you give me your status and consumable readings please? Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. My status is very good. I feel fine. Fuel is 90-98 [percent], oxygen 75-100 [percent], amps, 21 present time, cabin pressure holding at 5.5. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand, reading you loud and clear now. Over.

John Glenn

Roger, loud and clear.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. At this, MARK, at this present time, I still have some clouds visible below me, the sunset was beautiful. It went down very rapidly. I still have a brilliant blue band clear across the horizon almost covering my whole window. The redness of the sunset I can still see through some of the clouds way over to the left of my course. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, under. …

John Glenn

The sky above is absolutely black, completely black. I can see stars though up above. I do not have any of the constellations identified as yet. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand Friendship Seven.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven. Would you confirm you received retrosequence time 1 Delta from Zanzibar? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Roger, 1 Delta is 00 50 24.

CAPCOM

Roger. I have areas 1 Echo, Foxtrot, and Hotel. Are you prepared to copy? Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Let me know.

John Glenn

All right, go ahead with retrotimes. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Area 1 Echo is one hour, 15 minutes, 42 seconds. I say again, one hour, 15 minutes, 42 seconds. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. One Echo is 01 plus 15 plus 42.

CAPCOM

Roger. Area Foxtrot is one hour, 28 minutes, 50 seconds. I say again, one hour, 28 minutes, 50 seconds.

John Glenn

Roger. Foxtrot is 01 plus 28 plus 50.

CAPCOM

That is affirmative. Area Hotel is four hours, 32 minutes, 42 seconds. Four hours, 32 minutes, 42 seconds. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. 04 plus 32 plus 42. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. That is affirmative. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. I am having no trouble at all seeing the night horizon. I think the moon is probably coming up behind me. Yes, I can see it in the scope back here and it's making a very white light on the clouds below. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, we have launched our flare. You understand it is. … Over.

John Glenn

That is affirmative.

CAPCOM

We have been advised that it has been ignited. Do you see anything? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Negative. I don't have anything in the scope or out the window.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. Do you have any feelings from weightlessness? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Negative, I feel fine so far. Over.

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Spoken on Feb. 20, 1962, 3:33 p.m. UTC (62 years, 1 month ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Turning suit water to increase position. I am still running steam temperature of about 60 [degrees.] Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

John Glenn

I am now on suit temperature setting of 1.7. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand. What is your control mode? Over.

John Glenn

Control mode is ASCS automatic. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

John Glenn

Roger. The night side is light enough; I can even see the horizon okay out through the periscope. Over.

John Glenn

Friendship Seven, Roger.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Indiana CapCom. We now have IOS. Over.

John Glenn

Roger, understand IOS.

CAPCOM

Your voice transmissions are starting to fade very badly. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven.

CAPCOM

… clear, IOS Cap Com. Out.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, broadcasting in the blind. Wait a minute. Friendship Seven, broadcasting in the blind, making observations on night outside. There seems to be a high layer way up above the horizon; much higher than anything I saw on the daylight side. The stars seem to go through it and then go on down toward the real horizon. It would appear to be possibly some 7 or 8 degrees wide. I can see the clouds down below it; then a dark band, then a lighter band that the stars shine right through as they come down toward the horizon. I can identify Aries and Triangulum.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Muchea Com Tech. We read you. Would you.

John Glenn

Hello, Muchea Com Tech. This is Friendship Seven, reading you loud and clear. How me?

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. Muchea Cap Com. How me? Over.

John Glenn

Roger. How are you doing Gordo? We're doing real fine up here. Everything is going very well. Over.

CAPCOM

John, you sound good.

John Glenn

Roger. Control fuel is 90-100 [percent], oxygen is 75-100 [percent], amps are 22, all systems are still go. Having no problems at all. Control system operating fine. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Do you have any star or weather or landmark observations as yet? Over.

John Glenn

Roger. I was just making some to the recorder. The only unusual thing I have noticed is a rather high, what would appear to be a haze layer up some 7 or 8 degrees above the horizon on the night side. The stars I can see through it as they go down toward the real horizon, but it is a very visible single band or layer pretty well up above the normal horizon. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, very interesting.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I had a lot of cloud cover coming off of Africa. It has thinned out considerably now and although I can't definitely see the ocean, there is a lot of moonlight here that does reflect off what clouds there are. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. You had an excellent cutoff, John. Your velocity was 8 feet per second low. V over VR, 1.0002. Can you confirm your retrosequence 1 Easy, Foxtrot, and Hotel from Indian Ocean Ship? Over.

John Glenn

That is affirmative. I did.

CAPCOM

Roger. Your yaw check over ATS was good. Your yaw when you were on fly-by-wire over IOS was excellent.

CAPCOM

Are we clear to send you a Z and R Cal? Over.

CAPCOM

Z Cal coming through now.

CAPCOM

Roger. Shortly you may observe some lights down there. You want to take a check on that to your right? Over.

John Glenn

Roger. I'm all set to see if I can't get them in sight.

CAPCOM

Roger. You do have your visor closed at this time. Over.

John Glenn

This is affirmative. I had it open for a little while; it's closed now. Cabin pressure is holding in good shape. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Z Cal is off. R Cal is coming through now.

CAPCOM

Any symptoms of vertigo or nausea at all? Over.

John Glenn

Negative, no symptoms whatsoever. I feel fine. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Your 150 VA inverter is 180°. Looks like it's doing pretty well.

John Glenn

Roger. Looks like it is holding up fine.

John Glenn

That was sure a short day.