weekend on c-span3. >> each week, we bring you archival films that provide context for today's current affairs. on february 20, 1962, john glenn became the first american to orbit the earth and a flight that lasted for hours and 55 minutes. america friendship , 7, a 57 minute nasa documentary detailing the successful mercury mission that helps america catch up with the soviets in the space race. john glenn, a decorated u.s. marine pilot astronaut and , senator from ohio, died on at the age of 95. 1998, then senator glenn became the oldest person to fly in space when he spent nine days aboard the space shuttle discovery. ♪

>> the countdown is on once again underway at cape canaveral, preparing to launch astronaut john glenn around the world. >> [speaking foreign languages]

>> report, the astronauts ' condition is excellent. whether still remains the big question mark. the countdown is again underway. >> with the entire world is our with the entire world as our witness, the countdown begins at cape canaveral, florida, for one

of man's greatest adventures. it begins here, with these men, for they are the launch team. from now until the instant the flight, the fate of the mission rests principally on their skills and judgments. the countdown is at their master plan and they proceed with the ritual with unhurried deliberation. they have a timetable they must follow to awaken a giant machine, too tested and private for the one supreme moment for which it was created. now meter reads 11.5. >> minute after minute, page upon page, the count continues. in the night beyond this block house, a modified rocket now

restless energy beneath a mercury spacecraft as these men have slid toward its final minutes on earth. today is february 20, 1962. today, if all goes well, the men here will launch an american astronaut into orbit around the world in a spacecraft which he has named "friendship 7." ♪

>> friendship 7 awaits its pilot, and the pilot has waited three years for this day. three long, arduous years of study, of training, and waiting. and now he is ready. his name is john glenn. ♪ >> astronaut john glenn of new concord, ohio. lieutenant colonel united states , marine corps. married, father of two teenage children. glenn has been a pilot over half of his 40 years, has flowed into wars andown in two

is a veteran test pilot who five years earlier, established a transcontinental flight record as the first man to reach supersonic speed across america. he volunteered for spaceflight. two teammates have pioneered the way into space for glenn. astronauts alan shepard and virgil griffin tested the mercury spacecraft on trailblazing suborbital missions, pushing the group into the threshold of orbital flight. and now it is glenn's turn. now to glen falls of the challenge of man's next advance, for he has been chosen to cross the threshold gained by shepard

and griffin and to orbit of the world. the countdown continues for john glenn and continues beyond this room for friendship 7. and it continues this moment around the world. ♪ >> these are john glenn's ground-based copilots. men he knows well with with who he has trained. and in whose judgment his life belongs to this day. they are the flight controllers, and from the mercury control center, within view of the launch complex they make the , decisions, issue the commands that will govern the course of

the mission. these men will flood the facts needed for decision. the scope of their responsibility, of the entire operation it defies comprehension. this very instant, the countdown for flight continues around the world. on three continents, on islands, in ships and planes, and lands where it is summer and tomorrow is near, and lands where it is winter and tomorrow is just beginning. ♪ >> roger, ctc. control center is go. ♪ >> northeast of cape canaveral, 1000 miles into the atlantic, dawn's early light fills the british colony of bermuda.

station to you in the mercury network proceeds with the countdown. the tracking and telemetry stations, 18 in all, are and avenue of electronic checkpoints around the world to monitor and communicate with friendship 7 as it passes overhead. >> cape this is bermuda. >> radar is the eyes of the station and elementary is of the ears. each second, telemetry will hear and record nearly 2000 items of information brought down from friendship seven. in the months to come, engineers and scientists will find telemetry records, answers needed for the boulder space

explorations of the future. >> displays and recorders have been calibrated. >> roger, thank you. >> flight this is mn oh. all systems status green. ♪ >> latitude, five degrees north. longitude, seven degrees west. a spot in the atlantic ocean off the coast of africa, and nation three, the rose not, waits under the morning sun for john glenn. operating out of trinidad, rose not will communicate with friendship 7 and monitor the journey as it streaks across the empty ocean and out over africa. >> you are proceeding at about

five knots. over. ♪ >> beyond the mercury station on canary island off the african coast, it is midday at station five in nigeria, deep in the continent of africa. flight data recorded here and on zanzibar on africa's east coast will relay through this transmitting station to london and on through america. far to the southeast of

conneaut, beyond the zanzibar station, the ship's bell of the -- tollsentury told the twilight of day and the emptiness of the indian ocean. ♪ to the east, some 2500 miles from the coastal century, dust blankets the network eight station near perth, western australia, halfway around the world from cape canaveral. >> tweak it up on here. ♪ >> today, february 20, is fast fading over australia. when glenn arrives, tomorrow will greet him. but north and east across the

pacific, far beyond the mercury station, february 20 is just minutes old on hawaii's garden island. there, and then repair for the prepareof -- there, men arrival ofiba -- friendship seven. eastward to the gulf of california, and the mercury station at wymouth, mexico. look good -- >> look good, just waiting for lift off. proceeding with calibrations. >> north of mexico, in the

predawn, the mountaintop station in california waits out the long countdown ready to track john , glenn. >> roger, what is the present count? >> southeast now, to the farmlands of texas, with a station of corpus christi preparing its station for flight. >> roger, all systems. would you please commence preflight calibrations at this time since the countdown is progressing normally? advise me when you have completed. >> far to the north and east of corpus christi beats the heart of the worldwide mercury network.

the communication center that bond it into a working entity. this is the goddard space flight center in greenbelt, maryland. through here finals the voice -- through here finals -- through here funnels the communication that links the global stations to mercury control. the peters are able to make judgments and flashes of time faster than a brain can react. throughout the flight, computers will generate recommendations on whether the mission should continue or be aborted. they will determine locations of spacecraft, the time it should begin reentry, the point it which it will land. the most vital of these findings will be transmitted instantaneously to cape canaveral. ♪ >> around the world, all is ready. the men, the stations, the space

vehicle. that theeporters learn most vital of all elements is ready, the man himself john , glenn. ♪

>> what are the thoughts of a man about to rocket into history? astronaut, the man who will challenge space. but this requires the skills of other men and women, scattered around the world. from the engineers and technicians who produced the crew whoicle to the prepares to launch it. from the tracking experts who will chart the voyage around the globe to the sailors now waiting at sea to recover him. this is the moment behind research and testing, planning and training. the purpose of it all is knowledge. knowledge of space and of how

effectively manned spacecraft can function together in a hostile environment. knowledge that will serve as the basis for space explorations of the future. hard-won knowledge, a benefit to all men. bought by sacrifice and dedication and courage. ♪ >> now, just a handful of minutes remain until the crew on the service tower call for the pilot of friendship 7. ♪

>> if you and the astronaut are ready, proceed to the ship. >> ok, john. [indiscernible] ♪

>> ok, offset. -- all set. ♪

>> the sound of john glenn's life. his heartbeat you hear will flow from friendship 7 throughout the flight, informing those on the ground how well he endures the trials ahead. into the soft light of this florida don -- florida dawn emerges friendship seven, it's making debut to its day of destiny.

the mercury atlas stands alone, waiting to depart this earth. a quarter of a million pounds of 3.5et, with thrust equal to million horsepower. all to hurdle a 168 pound astronaut into space. >> all stations, we are at lunch positions. start interrogation in one minute. >> the countdown sweeps closer to the moment of flight. and recovery teams here at the cape and around the world ready themselves to aid the astronaut. above all else john glenn's , safety is paramount.

never in all of history have so many people shared, without censorship an adventure of such , magnitude. through all news media in all languages, all the people of the world are witness to this exploration of space, to its success or failure. t -15 minutes. and counting. there will be the smoking in the blackout still further notice. -- no smoking in the blackouts till further notice. >> roger, standing by bermuda. >> estimate five minutes, ok? five minutes.

>> i said to take it down to t minus seven. we may have it by then. >> roger. >> do you want us to hold, bermuda? >> we would like to hold at seven, we lost our main power on the kampeter and we want to make sure nothing else has gone wrong. >> what do you estimate? >> somewhere between five and 10 minutes, ok? >> can you expedite? >> make it five. >> all stations holding. >> we just got a go. >> are you ready? >> are you ready to continue? >> green, green. your attention please, we will

pick up the count at t minus six minutes 30 seconds and counting. >> the time nears, and soon this earth cap indicator in the capsule will soon start showing john glenn his changing positions above the world. hearbeat sound.

>> mark 57 seconds. , we're going to start epi on my mark. >> roger. >> 2, 1, mark. roger, epi is a go. >> -45. >> >> status check, -40. pressurization? >> all pre-start trilobites are correct, ready light is on. inject mercury umbilical. >> mercury umbilical clear. >> t minus 18 seconds and counting. engine start. >> good lord, ride all the way. >> godspeed, john glenn. >> 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

zero. [inaudible] [rocket sound] >> roger. 3, 2, 1. mark. roger, backup clock is started. oxygen, 78. 100 amps, 27. flight path is good, 69. [cheering]

♪ >> 50 seconds. 65, it still looks real good from here. 70 seconds, leaving a nice paper trail now. it looks really fine. >> looks good, you got it. >> 80 seconds, looks good from here. 85. 90. 95. power is doubling up now. we are in good shape. 103, 102, oxygen 78/100. all systems are go.

cabin pressure holding steady. >> roger, 20 seconds to see go. >> seeco, sustained engine cut off, the moment when the final atlas engine will shut down and the spacecraft will separate from the booster rocket and begin orbital fight. >> seeco. got the greats fired, ok. capsule is turning around. the view is tremendous. ♪ >> >> to john glenn, now belongs an awesome panorama. the world curbing beneath him

just as it was filmed from an earlier mercury capsule. >> i could see the booster a couple of yards behind me. it was beautiful. >> roger, you have a go. friendship 7, beautiful sight. >> roger, 7, you are loud and clear. >> friendship 7 -- >> stand by, this is friendship 7. this is very comfortable.

i have nothing but very fine feelings. this feels very normal and very good. >> roger, friendship 7. >> all systems ok. >> roger. anything to report on control system check? >> everything appears to be going ok. we are right on schedule. >> very good, very good. >> so far, excellent. >> friendship 7, you are cutting out.

>> friendship 7, friendship 7. i read you very weak. give me the status of your control system. >> the horizon is a beautiful blue. a beautiful view of the african coast. out the window is by far the best view. part of the canaries was hit by clouds. dust storms rolling across the desert. difficult to see the ground in some areas. >> over. >> friendship 7, i read you loud and clear. how do you read me? >> loud and clear.

>> loud and clear, what is your status? >> excellent. i feel fine. >> i heard your comments on the weather over africa. as far as we can see, a lot of this part of africa is covered with dust. >> that is exactly the way it looks from up here, too. >> this is friendship 7. cabin pressure holding. >> roger, do you want to stand by? >> roger.

a little different display than i had anticipated. [inaudible] >> friendship 7, you are fading rapidly. ♪ raisesss africa friendship seven at 17,545 an hour, 4 miles for every heartbeat of john glenn. ♪ friendship 7 streaks through the night up tomorrow and races from the dawn of yesterday. far beyond human sight. seen only by the electronic

instruments of the coastal century as she records the patterns of the first man in space. ♪ for john glenn, the familiar time references of earth no longer apply. he journeys around our world in just 88 minutes, out-racing the sun that needs 24 hours to circle the same globe. >> friendship 7, friendship 7. do you read? >> this is friendship 7. reading you loud and clear.

>> how are you doing? we are doing real fine up here. everything is going well. >> john, you sound good. >> roger. a short day. >> it passes rapidly. shortly you may observe the lights down there. peggy look out to your right. >> got them in sight. >> roger. any symptoms of vertigo or nausea at all? >> no symptoms whatsoever. i feel fine. >> good show. >> roger, i do have a life insight on the ground. >> off to your right -- >> that is affirmative. off to my right, i can see a big pattern of light. i can see very bright lights just to the south of it. >> that is perth. and rocking him you are seeing there.

>> the lights shut very well. thank everyone -- the lights show up very well. thank everyone for putting them on, will you. ♪ >> roger, friendship 7, loud and clear. >> are we still go from control center? >> roger, we are still go. >> friendship 7, could you give us a blood pressure check?

>> i still have some of these particles i can not identify coming around the capsule occasionally. >> how big are these particles? >> of the order of 16th of an inch or smaller. very small. they are just by the window and i can see them against the dark sky. there were literally thousands of them. it looks like a myriad of stars. >> loss of signal, they have lost contact and friendship 7 streaks home. an unseen comment darting across the land of its origin. >> cape canaveral, how do you copy? >> we read you loud and clear. >> standby, please.

>> roger. >> still reading you. >> roger, this is friendship 7. >> minor trouble aboard friendship 7. a malfunction in the control system. john glenn is overriding the faulty system and manually controls friendship 7 on fly by wire, directing its movements by hand control much like a pilot flies a plane. >> friendship 7, standing by. >> friendship 7, we have telemetry solid. we will remind you to start the pre-darkside checklist as soon as you lose contact with us. >> friendship 7, friendship 7, do you read?

>> this is friendship 7. >> will you confirm that your landing back switch is in the off position? >> the center off position. >> you have not had any banging noises? >> negative. masked behind that routine report the first hint of , potential disaster. john glenn reports, status normal. but ground stations are now receiving an anonymous -- ominous signal. an indication that the heat shield on friendship seven has

come loose. >> friendship 7 -- do you still consider yourself good for the next orbit? >> i am go for the next orbit. at a goonfirms they are at the present time for present orbit. >> friendship 7, do you read? >> friendship 7, loud and clear. >> receiving you much better now. >> you look real good up there. >> i feel real good, no problems at all. >> good show. we will see you next time around. >> this is mercury control. we have a contact with our mexico station and with the corpus christi tracking station.

the friendship 7 spacecraft is now committed to its third orbit. >> in mercury control at cape canaveral, a decision must be made -- and soon. the signal pulsing down from friendship 7 indicates that the heatshield is loose. could the signal be erroneous? there is no way to tell. if it is true, john glenn could perish in an inferno when he plunges back into the atmosphere. the retro rockets that slow the spacecraft are strapped over the shield. if they were left on after retro fire, instead of being jettisoned, their straps might hold the shield in place before they burn off. they might possibly save john glenn from the 3000 degrees of reentry heat until he is deep enough into the atmosphere to hold the shield in place. the decision must be made soon.

even now, glenn is streaking toward the united states and he must begin the sequence 300 miles west of california if he is to land in the planned recovery area 700 miles south and east of florida. >> i will give you a mark. >> only 5-0 seconds to retrograde, over. >> california, california. we would like to leave the package on at least through texas. so tell him to keep his retro denizen switch off. >> leave your retro pack on over texas. >> roger. >> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. fire. >> roger.

retros are firing. >> are they ever? feels like i'm going back toward hawaii. >> do not do that. you want to go to the east coast. >> fire retro light is green. roger. roger, retro has stopped. >> leave it on until you pass texas. >> that is affirmative. >> good-looking flight from what we have seen. >> we will see you back east. >> we have decided to reenter with the pack on. we are recommending you leave the retro packing on for the entire reentry.

this means you will have to switche the zero-five g which is expected to occur. this means you will have to manually retract the scope. do you read? >> what is the reason for this? >> not at this time. >> roger. say again your instructions please come over. >> we are recommending the retro package not be jettisoned. this means that you will have to override the switch which is expected to occur in 4.5 minutes from now. do you understand? >> i will have to make a manual and bring the scope in manually.

is that affirmed? >> that is affirmative. >> roger. >> [inaudible] >> roger, retracting scope manually. >> we are not sure whether or not your landing black -- landing bag has the floyd. it is far safer to reenter with the retro package on. we see no difficulty at this time. >> roger, understand. >> [inaudible] >> friendship 7 -- >> go ahead, cape.

>> i recommend that you -- >> retro pack upon reaching -- do you understand? >> suddenly, all contact with john glenn and friendship 7 is lost. >> this is friendship 7 -- i think the package just let go. isfriendship seven, this cape, do you read? >> a real fireball outside. >> this is cape.

>> the furnace like heat of reentry has created a barrier around friendship 7, halting all voice communication. ♪ alone, he plunges back toward earth, a fiery meteorite. >> friendship 7, over? >> this is cape, do you read? do you receive? >> the thickening atmosphere breaks the defense slowing , friendship 7 to 1300 miles an hour in slightly over three minutes.

the force of gravity making john glenn way eight times his normal weight. >> do you receive? >> this is cape. within one mile, voice call is steelhead. >> it is the codename waiting to retrieve friendship 7. >> john glenn cannot hear the command. >> reading you loud and clear, how are you doing?

>> that was a real fireball. i had great chunks of that retro back breaking all the way through. >> it did break off, is that correct? >> reading you loud and clear. >> friendship 7 -- >> rocking quite a bit. >> scope looks good. >> scope did not come out. >> pumping the scope out.

reentry checklist complete. standing by. >> roger. circles are open. roger. >> 10,800 feet. beautiful. looks good. it looks very good. the shoot looks very good.

-- the schute looks very good. hello, mercury recovery, this is friendship 7. do you read me? >> loud and clear. >> home is the voyager. behind a journey of 81,000 miles, three days and three nights in just four hours and 56 minutes. at 3:04 p.m. eastern standard time, friendship 7 comes to rest a board united states destroyer noah and john glenn returns to

the people of earth. a change of clothing, a breath of cool air, a short debriefing. then john glenn leaves the knower -- noah heads for the , aircraft carrier under the golden splendor of his fourth sunset of the day. ♪

♪ his name is john herschel glenn junior, lieutenant colonel, united states marine corps. married, father of two teenage children. today, john glenn and the mercury team challenged space and they won.

♪ >> today, john glenn dared fate. other brave men will follow

tomorrow and in the tomorrow after that. each step more bold as we reach out to explore the universe around us. ♪ ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

americane watching history tv, 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. forow us on twitter information on our schedule, and to keep up with the latest

history news. afterwards, a journalist on ukraine's past and present amid regional conflict as told through the stories of the ukrainian people in her book blacks square, adventures in post-soviet ukraine. she is interviewed by alexander cooley, columbia university and director of the institute. >> when your system of government, when you state disappears or is radically reformulated, that often leaves a space of chaos. for ordinary people, especially people who do not have a lot of money, people who are in provincial areas, that can lead to an unbelievable amount of people and stress in their own lives. >> tonight at 9:00 eastern on book tv. go online for the