John Herschel Glenn, Jr. Orbital Flight Letter

This collection consists of a letter written by John Herschel Glenn, Jr. to Tim Jones, dated January 15, 1964. In the letter, which is on Glenn's National Aeronautics and Space Administration letterhead, Glenn discusses his thoughts on faith both during his orbital flight as well as in a general sense.

John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (1921-2016) became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962 in the Mercury MA-6 Friendship 7. Glenn's three-orbit mission was a sterling success, as he overcame problems with the automatic control system that would have ended an unmanned flight. However, reentry was tense, as a faulty telemetry signal from the spacecraft indicated that the heat shield might be loose. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission Control instructed Glenn not to jettison the retrorocket package after firing in order to better hold the heat shield in place. Glenn reentered successfully and splashed down in the Atlantic 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds after launch. Tim Jones was a sixteen year old boy when John Glenn made his orbital flight. Jones was enamored with the idea of flight and space travel and discussions in his church youth group at the time inspired Jones to write to John Glenn and ask about his thoughts on God during Glenn's mission.