"GEE, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE COME A LONG WAY"

JFK MAKES LAST VISIT TO CAPE CANAVERAL

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) On November 16, 1963, President John F. Kennedy made his last visit to the space center here at Cape Canaveral.
Thurston Clarke quotes Miami Herald reporter Nixon Smiley as saying...
"...the air was electrified from the time of the President's arrival until a moment after his departure."

JFK's briefing, held outside the Saturn Control Center,  was directed by rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun and NASA astronauts Leroy Gordon Cooper and Virgil Gus Grissom.

The President also attended a lecture given by Dr. George Mueller, NASA administrator, who "summarized developments" in the program to land a man on the moon. 

Clarke writes that JFK "impatiently" listened to the lecture and then jumped up immediately afterward to ask some questions about the rocket models on display in the room.  When told the models were "built to scale" and the Saturn V  lunar-mission rocket was 7 times larger than the Redstone, JFK remarked, "Gee, looks like we've come a long way."

Von Braun and JFK

Cape Canaveral, Florida

November 16, 1963

NASA Photo

"FIRST US SPACECRAFT TO REACH ANOTHER CELESTIAL BODY"

RANGER 4 CRASHES ON THE MOON

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) Just 3 months after US spacecraft Ranger 3 failed to reach the moon, Ranger 4* made a crash landing on the moon on April 26, 1962.  

Ranger 4, launched without incident from the Cape's Complex 12 on April 23rd, was sent to the moon to transmit pictures of the lunar surface back to earth for a ten minute period before crashing.

A problem developed when an on board computer failed as a result of solar panel and navigation systems deployment.  

*Ranger 4 weighed 730 pounds & was manufactured at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  It was launched by an Atlas-Agena rocket.

    Ranger 4 Spacecraft

"GOD SPEED JOHN GLENN"

JOHN GLENN BECOMES FIRST AMERICAN IN ORBIT

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) 53 years ago today, February 20, 1962, the United States put its' first astronaut into earth orbit.

Lt.Col. John Glenn (USMC), lifted off successfully aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury space capsule at 9:47 a.m. eastern time with 100,000 people watching on the ground and millions on television.

John Glenn, no stranger to putting his life on the line in the air, had flown 150 combat missions in WW II and the Korean War.

John Glenn Signed Bomber Jacket

Dr. Les Cunningham Collection

Campbell, Cunningham & Taylor

Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo by John White (2015)

While his 3 orbits around the globe were not without some technical issues, the Friendship 7 reentered the earth's atmosphere and splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean where it was retrieved by a helicopter from the USS Noa.

The flight lasted almost 5 hours. 

John Glenn became the third man to orbit the earth.  The first was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin followed by his fellow cosmonaut Gherman Titov.

Glenn is also the 3rd American astronaut to fly in space.  He follows fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard & Virgil "Gus" Grissom.

The success of putting a man in orbit represented a huge step toward achieving President John F. Kennedy's goal of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" by the end of the decade.

The President visited Cape Canaveral on February 23, 1962 to pin a medal on John Glenn who later addressed congress and was given a ticker tape parade.

KICK BORN 95 YEARS AGO TODAY

Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Kathleen Agnes 'Kick' Kennedy, the younger sister of future President John F. Kennedy, was born 94 years ago today, February 20, 1920, here in Brookline. a suburb of Boston.

Kathleen was the second daughter and fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and was called 'Kick' by everyone except her mother.  She attended Noroton Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut and the Hold Child Convent in Neuilly, France.

Kick was a London debutante in May 1938 when Joe Sr. was Ambassador to Great Britain and became a Red Cross volunteer during World War II.

Kathleen Kennedy

London, England

JFK Library Photo (1943)

Kick, against the wishes of her mother Rose, married William Cavendish, the Marquess of Hartington, on May 6, 1944. Kick's husband was killed in the war on September 10, 1944.

Kathleen Kennedy died in an airplane crash in France on May 13, 1948. 

SOURCES

"Kathleen Kennedy: Her Life and Times," by Lynne McTaggart, Holt Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1983.

"The Kennedy Curse," by Edward Klein, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2003.

JFK+50 TOP TEN POSTS #9

JFK+50 TOP POST #9

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Today we continue a review of the ten most popular posts of our JFK+50 blog since we began in November 2010.  This review will include updates and revisions of the original posts. 

Thanks to all our visitors worldwide.

"GOD SPEED, JOHN GLENN"

February 20, 2011, Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) With these words, United States astronaut, Lt.Col. John Glenn* of the United States Marine Corps, lifted off from the Space Center here at Cape Canaveral 49 years ago today to become America's first man to orbit the earth.

Colonel Glenn lifted off successfully aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury space capsule at 9:47 a.m. eastern time with 100,000 people watching on the ground and millions more on television.

Lt. Col. John Glenn

Friendship 7

NASA Photo

While his three orbits around the globe were not without some technical issues, Friendship 7 reentered the earth's atmosphere successfully and splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean where it was retrieved by a helicopter from the USS Noa.The flight lasted almost five hours. 

John Glenn became the third man to orbit the earth.  The first was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin followed by his fellow cosmonaut Gherman Titov.

Glenn was also the third American astronaut to fly in space.  He followed fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom.

Launch of Friendship 7

February 20, 1962

Cape Canaveral, Florida

NASA Photo

The success of putting a man in orbit was a great step toward achieving President Kennedy's goal, set in 1961, of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" by the end of the decade.

The President visited Cape Canaveral on February 23, 1962 to pin a medal on John Glenn who later addressed Congress and was given a ticker tape parade.

JFK's Visit to Cape Canaveral

February 23, 1962

NASA Photographs

*John Glenn was born on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio.  He served in US Naval Aviation during WWII and transferred to the USMC where he flew 59 combat missions.  JG also logged 27 missions during the Korean Conflict.

After his entry into the space program and his successful orbital flight in 1962, Colonel Glenn became a personal friend of JFK and the Kennedy family. He retired from the military in 1965 and later served in the United States Senate for 24 years.  In 1998, Col. Glenn joined the shuttle crew and became the oldest person, at age 77, to fly in space.

In addition to many other awards, Col. Glenn was a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.

LEROY GORDON COOPER

GORDON COOPER LAUNCHED INTO SPACE 51 YEARS AGO TODAY

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) 51 years ago today, May 15, 1963, American astronaut Gordon Cooper* was launched into orbit aboard the "FAITH 7."

Cooper's flight, the last Mercury mission, included 22 orbits over a period of more than 34 hours giving the astronaut more space time than the previous five flights put together.

Gordon Cooper was also the first American to sleep on the launching pad during countdown and to sleep while in earth orbit.

                       Leroy Gordon Cooper
                         September 10, 1964
                                NASA Photo

The flight of Faith 7, however, was not perfect. 

 On the 19th orbit, the capsule's power failed.  With cabin temperature over 100 degrees, Gordon Cooper was forced to take manual control of his spacecraft and prepare for reentry.

Using his view out the window as a reference point and his wrist watch to keep time, the astronaut successfully returned to earth.

Upon his death from heart failure at the age of 77, NASA issued the following statement...

"As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Gordon Cooper was one of the faces of America's fledgling space program. 

He truly portrayed the right stuff, and he helped gain the backing and enthusiasm of the American public so critical for the spirit of exploration."

*Leroy Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  He graduated from  the University of Ohio with a US Army commission.  He transferred to the USAF in 1949 and earned a degree in aerospace engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1957.  

Cooper, the youngest of the original 7 Mercury astronauts, flew as command pilot of GEMINI 5 with Robert Conrad in 1965.  The flight set a space endurance record of 3.3 million miles in nearly 191 hours.

Colonel Cooper retired in 1970.  He worked for Walt Disney as a VP of research and development for EPCOT and died in Ventura, California.

His many awards include the JOHN F. KENNEDY TROPHY.

  JFK, Gordon Cooper and Gus Grissom
                     JFK Library Photo 

                  Leroy Gordon Cooper 
              NASA photograph (1963)

JFK+50 NOTE

Cape Canaveral, originally known as Artesia (1893-1954) was known as Port Canaveral from 1954 to 1962.  

In 1962 and 1963, it became known as Cape Canaveral.

In the aftermath of JFK's death, the name was changed to CAPE KENNEDY (1964-1973). 

 On October 9, 1973, the spaceport's name was changed back by the Florida State Legislature to CAPE CANAVERAL.  

                Cape Canaveral, Florida
                           NASA Photo

JFK VISITS US SPACEPORT ON LAST SATURDAY OF HIS LIFE

November 16, 2013

JFK VISITS US SPACEPORT ON LAST SATURDAY OF HIS LIFE

Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy spent his last Saturday alive 50 years ago today, November 16, 1963, in the Sunshine State.

The President traveled to Cape Canaveral for his last visit to the space center which was to named in his honor after his death.

According to Thurston Clark, who in "JFK's Last Hundred Days," quotes Miami Herald reporter Nixon Smiley as saying...

"...the air was electrified from the time of the President's arrival until a moment after his departure."

JFK's briefing at the Cape, held outside the Saturn Control Center,  was directed by rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun and NASA astronauts Leroy Gordon Cooper and Virgil Gus Grissom.

The President also attended a lecture given by Dr. George Mueller, NASA administrator, who "summarized developments" in the program to land a man on the moon. 

Clarke writes that JFK "impatiently" listened to the lecture and then jumped up immediately afterward to ask some questions about the rocket models on display in the room.

JFK During NASA Briefing

Cape Canaveral, Florida
NASA Photo

When told the models were "built to scale" and the Saturn V lunar-mission rocket was indeed 7 times larger than the Redstone which had propelled Alan Shepard into space, JFK remarked, "Gee, looks like we've come a long way."

Von Braun then took the President to the launch pad where the Saturn I was located.  He told JFK that this rocket, scheduled to be fired into space in December 1963, would be "more powerful" with a "heavier payload" than any Soviet rocket to date.

Von Braun and JFK

Cape Canaveral, Florida

November 16, 1963

NASA Photo

The President also observed the Titan II and Merritt Island launch pads.

Later, from the deck of the Observation, JFK watched a Polaris missile launch from the nuclear submarine Andrew Jackson.

Thurston Clarke tells us that the launch of the Polaris missile represented several things that JFK loved...

"the U.S. Navy, the ocean, and technological wizardry."

JFK Watching Polaris Missile

Cape Canaveral, Florida

November 16, 1963

JFK Library Photo

SOURCE

"JFK's Last Hundred Days:  The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President," by Thurston Clarke, The Penguin Press, New York City, 2013.

BATTLE OF CAMPBELL'S STATION, TENNESSEE FOUGHT 150 YEARS AGO TODAY

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Confederate soldiers under the command of General James Longstreet were defeated 150 years ago today, November 16, 1863, at Campbell's Station, just outside of this East Tennessee city.

Civil War Campsite

Gibbs Community

Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo by John White (2008)

General Longstreet had been sent to Knoxville from Chattanooga by CSA commander General Braxton Bragg.

Bragg had hopes that Longstreet's forces would be able to capture this pro-union area for the Confederacy.  

Although within Rebel territory, East Tennesseeans had voted 3 to 1 to remain in the Union.  Nevertheless, Knoxville was occupied by Confederate forces early in the war.  By 1863, however, Federals had retaken the city.

After the Battle of Campbell's Station, Longstreet took up positions just outside of Knoxville where the Battle of Fort Sanders later in the month would secure the city for the Federals.

Fort Sanders Reconstructed

Gibbs Community

Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo by John White (2008)