John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I am in manual. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Understand.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Canary Cap Com. The Aeromed wants to talk to you. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Go ahead, Aeromed.

Flight Surgeon

This is Canary surgeon. Are you having any nausea, or have you experienced any nausea at all during the entire flight?

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Negative. I have felt perfectly normal during the whole flight. I feel fine. Over.

Flight Surgeon

Very good. Back to Cap Com.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, do you want your inverter temperatures at this time?

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. Go ahead.

CAPCOM

Roger. We're turning you over to Canary Systems.

SY

Friendship Seven, this is Canary Systems. How do you read?

John Glenn

Go ahead, Canary Systems, go ahead.

SY

The systems on the ground look fairly normal at this time. The temperatures are a little bit on the high side but there's nothing critical showing up. The latest reports show that the inverters are about 200 [degrees] and 210 [degrees]; this does not seem to be critical. They should be holding all this level. Do you understand?

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven.

SY

All other systems are as you reported to me.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Atlantic Ship Cap, Com Tech. How do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Atlantic Cap Com. Read you loud and clear. How me? Over.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Atlantic Ship Com Tech. We read you weak but broken, weak but broken.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven. Fuel 64-54 [percent], oxygen 62-94 [percent], amps 23. Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Atlantic Ship: Atlantic Cap Com. Friendship Seven, do you receive? Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is ATS Cap Com. How do you read me? Over. And what mode are you on for communications? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I'm on HF at present time, on HF. I'll shift to UHF— is, if you're in solid contact. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. We have TM contact, we have TM contact. Switch to UHF please.

John Glenn

Roger, switching to UHF.

John Glenn

Atlantic Ship, this is Friendship Seven. Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Atlantic Ship. Friendship Seven. Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is ATS Cap Com. Read only the last part of your transmission. Say again, please.

John Glenn

Atlantic Ship, This is Friendship Seven. Wish you would pass to Cape. I let the capsule drift around to the 180° position and I am having to reorient at present time. When Iain all lined with the horizon and the periscope, my attitude indications now are way off. My roll indicates 30° right; my yaw indicates 35 [degrees] right; and pitch indicates plus 40 [degrees]; I repeat plus 40 [degrees] when I am in orbit attitude. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. I read you a little broken. You have discrepancies in attitudes of 30° right in roll, 35 [degrees] right in yaw and plus 40 [degrees] in pitch. Confirm, please. Over.

John Glenn

That is affirmative. I am realigning the capsule at present time and wilt cage and uncage the gyros before I go on the dark side. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. We will standby.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, ATS. Do you receive?

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven. Reading you loud and clear. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, in orbit attitude present time, caging gyros.

John Glenn

Gyros to cage, ready now.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Gyros are back on normal, going back to orbit attitude and will try ASCS. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger. Standing by.

John Glenn

Friendship Seven. Going to ASCS. Ready-now.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is ATS Cap Com. Do you read me? Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, you are getting weak, you are getting weak. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Did not read you, ATS.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech, transmitting on HF UHF.

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Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech, transmitting on HF UHF. Do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Zanzibar Com Tech. Zanzibar Com Tech, Friendship Seven. Receive you weak but readable. How me? Over.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech transmitting HF UHF. You're weak and garbled, weak and garbled. Do not copy. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven. I receive you rather garbled, also. My condition is good. Fuel 5, correction, fuel 64-48 [percent]; oxygen 52-92 [percent]. Over.

CAPCOM

(ATS) Friendship Seven, this is ATS Cap Com. I'm reading you very clear, very clear. Could you give me the reason for the errors in your attitudes, please?

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. That's a good question. I wish I knew, too. These errors have been off and on all during the flight. I have caged and recaged the gyros, caged and uncaged the gyros. I'm back in orbit attitude now but it is not, the attitude indicators are showing orbit attitude but it's not. By looking out at the horizon, I am about 20° right in roll and 20° too much on pitch down. I'm down to about probably 55° down in pitch by visual observation and about 20° right in roll. Yaw appears to be holding okay now. Over.

CAPCOM

(ATS) Friendship Seven, ATS Cap Com.

John Glenn

Atlantic Ship, this is Friendship Seven. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, approaching sunset.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech transmitting on HF UHF. Please acknowledge on HF. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven recording. A lot of dirt on the windows from the retrofire and lot of stuff on here looks like, ah, we might have smashed some bugs even on the way up off the pad. Looks like blood on the outside of the window, maybe. It makes it real, very difficult to observe anything when they get around on the sun side.

John Glenn

Friendship Seven. The sun is going down again now. Coming off automatic in yaw, and yawing a little bit to the left to observe it.

John Glenn

Mark, the sun is down.

John Glenn

And can see little or nothing of zodiacal light at the moment.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, flying with yaw handle pulled. Controlling on manual yaw.

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Spoken on Feb. 20, 1962, 6:19 p.m. UTC (62 years, 9 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

John Glenn

The way the horizon looks is a very orange band. Just as the sun goes down and extends way off either side, probably 45° each side of the sun, comes up into a lighter yellow, then a very deep blue, then a very light blue, on up to the black of the sky.

John Glenn

Once again I can see lightning flashing under me, very clearly.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Com Tech, transmitting on HF UHF. Please acknowledge on HF. Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Zanzibar Com Tech. Friendship Seven on HF. Do you receive me now. Over.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Zanzibar Cap Com reading you weak but garbled.

John Glenn

Roger. Understand reading me weak and garbled.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I took the capsule off of automatic in yaw only to go left to look at the sunset. It's back on automatic at present time in all three axes; I'm backing it up with manual. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, Friendship Seven, understand you're in automatic control in all three axes, backing up with manual. Is this affirmative. Over.

John Glenn

That is affirmative.

John Glenn

There's quite a big storm area under me. It must extend for, I see lightning flashes, as far, way off on the horizon to the right. I also have them almost directly under me here. They show up very brilliantly here on the dark side at night. They're just like firecrackers going off. Over.

John Glenn

Zanzibar, this is Friendship Seven. Did you get my fuels when I reported them? Over.

CAPCOM

Repeat your last transmission. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. This is Friendship Seven. Fuel is 60-55 [percent], oxygen is 60-92 [percent], Amps are 22. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. All voltages are 25, or above. Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven at 3 plus 42. We should be just about over Johannesburg, I cannot see anything of southern Africa on this pass. Over.

CAPCOM

Zanzibar Cap Com. Do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Roger, Zanzibar. I'm reading you weak but readable.

John Glenn

Zanzibar Cap Com, Friendship Seven on HF. Can see long streaky clouds down below as we, going off to my right up into sort of a general weather pattern. That's 3 plus 44.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. An observation on control system operation: It appears that whenever I go off on manual, or fly-by-wire and maneuver for any lengthy period of time, that somehow we induce considerably, considerable errors into the gyro system. I come up with all kinds of attitudes. That time for instance, when I yawed around 180°, and held for a little while, and came back again, I had errors of 30° in roll, 35 [degrees] in yaw and plus 40 [degrees] in pitch.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven, going on manual pitch.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Several times I have felt that I had a partially stuck thruster or one that was just partly operating in pitch down and just then again I had a pitch up rate going and all at once I felt a down thrust and it pitched down on me. Again there, it repeated again that time, so I think I have a stuck pitch thruster occasionally.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Indian Com Tech. How do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Hello, Indian Com Tech, Friendship Seven. Over.

Comm Tech

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Com Tech. I read you very weak, very weak, very garbled. Am turning over to Cap Com on UHF. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com on UHF. Do you read? Over.

John Glenn

Roger, Indian Cap Com. I read you loud and clear. How me?

CAPCOM

About 3 by 3. You're coming in stronger. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Friendship Seven. Fuel is 60 45 [percent], oxygen is 60 92 [percent], amps 23. Over.

CAPCOM

Say again your oxygen. Over.

John Glenn

Roger. Oxygen is 60-92 [percent]. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

CAPCOM

Friendship Seven, this is Indian Cap Com. What is your control mode? Over.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I'm on ASCS but it is operating very erratically. I'm backing it up with manual at the present time. I'm trying to get it set up so it will be in a decent ASCS attitude for retrofire. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. I can control it manually. I'll back it up manually and take over if I need to. Over.

CAPCOM

Roger, understand.

CAPCOM

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

John Glenn

This is Friendship Seven. Standby one.