John Glenn

Zanzibar this is Friendship Seven. Do you receive? Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com, reading you weak but readable. We have solid telemetry contact. Report your status. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. My status: I am on ASCS, it is not holding all the time. My trouble in yaw has reversed. During the first part of the flight, when I had trouble over the west coast of the United States, I had a problem with the yaw, with no low thrust to the left; now I have thrust in that direction but do not have low thrust to the right. When the capsule drifts out in that area, it hits high thrust and drops into orientation mode, temporarily. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. This is Zanzibar Cap Com. Continue with your 30-minute report. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. Thirty-minute report follows: Head movements cause no nausea or no bad feelings at all. I am surprised that I can look as close to the sun as I can; the sun is shining directly on my face at present time, and all I have to do is to shade my eyes with my eyebrow. All fuse switches are still as previously reported on left panel. ASCS Mode Select is normal, auto, gyro normal: Squib is armed, Auto Retrojettison is off. All “T” handles are in except manual and I have it pulled so that I can immediately go to manual as a backup in case the ASCS malfunctions further. The Rescue Aids are normal. Landing bag is off. All other sequence panel items are in normal position. Control fuel is 68-100 [percent], repeat, 68-100. EPI is indicating my approximate position. Time from launch is 02 plus 06 plus 30 MARK. Retrograde time for [area] H is still set for 04 plus 32 plus 28. I would like to know if Canaveral wants me to reset that into the clock. Over.

John Glenn

To reset the correct time on the clock. Over.

CAPCOM

Standby one, Friendship Seven.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com. We don't have word from Canaveral instructing us to instruct you to change the clock at this time.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, continue with 30-minute report.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. Thirty-minute report continues. Cabin pressure is 5.6 and holding. Cabin temperature is 95 [degrees] and dropping slowly. The relative humidity is 20 [percent], coolant quantity is 67 [percent], and suit environment temperature is 68 [degrees], pressure is 5.8. Steam temperature is 47 [degrees], and I'm turning that down a little bit more now. Oxygen is 68-100 percent; amps, 22; voltages: main 24, 25, 25, 25; standby one, 25, 25. Cabin excess water light is on, turning that one down. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. Continue.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven.

John Glenn

Standby one, I need to reorient the capsule. We're getting too far out. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Sun, I want to make a mark here when the sun goes down. Sun is on the horizon at the present time, a brilliant blue out from each side of it. And I'll give a mark at the last. The sun is going out of sighs. Ready now, MARK (2:09:06). There's a brilliant blue out on each side of the sun, horizon to horizon almost. I can see a thunderstorm down below me somewhere, and lightning.

John Glenn

And I am not night adapted right now, so I cannot see any of the zodiacal light.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com. Contingency time for Area 2 Delta, 02 38 31 Did you copy? Over.

John Glenn

Say again, contingency area time. Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com. Please comment an reach accuracy and visual acuity. Over.

John Glenn

Right, visual acuity is good. I have no problem reading the charts, no problem with the astigmatism at all. I am having no trouble at all holding attitudes either. I'm still on fly-by-wire. I'm on normal ASCS but I'm backing it up with manual at present time. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. We have intermittent pitch ignore.

CAPCOM

The inverter temperatures are 205° for fans inverted 190° for ASCS inverter. We are losing telemetry contact. Stand by to contact IOS, Zan.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, Zanzibar. Does Cape recommend any action on inverters? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Have a lot of lightning under me at the present time.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I still have very bright light along the horizon; orange at the bottom, yellowish layer, then blue, then very dark on top.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Indian Com Tech on HF and UHF How read? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I read you okay, Indian Com Tech. This is Friendship Seven. I am on straight manual control at present time. I have 92 percent fuel. Over on, on manual, auto fuel is at 64 [percent]. Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. You are fading in and out. Say again your fuel positions. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Standby one.

CAPCOM

Roger standing by.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Capsule dropped into orientation mode again on ASCS. I took it over manually and am reorienting at present time. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand you're reorienting in manual. Over.

John Glenn

Right, it dropped into orientation mode. I have fuel quantity warning light on in automatic. I'm okay at present time. Have capsule under control and using manual. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand. Will you give me a list of your consumables, please? Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Standby one.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Fuel, 62-90 [percent]; oxygen, 68-100 [percent]; amps, 20. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Roger. You're coming in loud and clear, loud and clear. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. I have good night horizon check, can control okay on night horizon.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven. this Indian Cap Com. Can you see any constellations and identify them? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Affirmative. I'm pitching up at present time to try and identify some of them. At capsule attitude in orbit, you can't see very much of the sky. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. Are you prepared to copy your retrosequence time? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Standby one.

CAPCOM

Roger.

Expand selection up Expand selection down Close

Spoken on Feb. 20, 1962, 5:03 p.m. UTC (62 years, 8 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet