庆祝约翰·格伦的历史使命
On February 20, 1962, NASA launched one of the most important flights in American history. The mission? Send a man to orbit Earth, observe his reactions and return him home safely. The pilot of this historic flight, John Glenn, became a national hero and a symbol of American ambition.
NASA’s Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility, or Gimbal Rig, was one of the many facilities where Glenn trained for their missions.
After three years of training, Glenn rocketed into space aboard the Mercury capsule Friendship 7. He became the third American in space and the first to orbit Earth. The historical flight was no easy feat. At the end of his first orbit, a yaw attitude jet clogged, forcing Glenn to abandon the automatic control system and use the manual electrical fly-by-wire system.
In 4 hours and 56 minutes, John Glenn circled the globe three times, reaching speeds of more than 17,000 miles per hour. The successful mission concluded with a splashdown and recovery in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.
John Glenn instantly became a hero. President John Kennedy awarded him the Space Congressional Medal of Honor. Schools and streets across the country were named after him. And a ticker tape parade in New York City celebrated his mission.
+ Learn More About the Gimbal Rig
+ Visit NASA’s John Glenn Page
Image Credit: NASA
1962年2月20日，NASA发射了美国历史上最重要的航班之一。任务吗?送一个人到地球轨道，观察他的反应，然后让他安全回家。这次历史性飞行的飞行员约翰·格伦成了民族英雄，也是美国雄心壮志的象征。
NASA的多轴空间测试惯性设备，或万向床，是格伦为他们的任务训练的许多设施之一。
经过三年的训练，格伦搭乘“友谊7号”水星太空舱飞入太空。他成为第三位进入太空的美国人，也是第一个进入地球轨道的美国人。这次历史性的飞行并非易事。在他的第一个轨道结束时，偏航姿态喷射装置阻塞了，迫使格伦放弃了自动控制系统，转而使用手动的线控电子飞行系统。
在4小时56分的时间里，约翰·格伦环绕地球3圈，最高时速超过17000英里。任务圆满结束，在百慕大东南800英里的大西洋进行了溅落和回收。
约翰·格伦立即成为英雄。约翰·肯尼迪总统授予他“太空国会荣誉勋章”。全国各地的学校和街道都以他的名字命名。纽约市举行了一场纸带游行，庆祝他的任务。
图片来源:NASA