Mercury-Atlas 6 Press Conference (1962)

Duration: 15:14

Year Published: 1962

Format: 16mm

Sound: sound

Description: This unedited KPRC-TV news footage captures a press conference following the successful completion of Mercury-Atlas 6, the first American orbital spaceflight. Also known after the name of its spacecraft, Friendship 7, the mission launched from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 20, 1962. Pilot John Glenn performed three orbits of the Earth before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean just under five hours later. During the press conference, likely conducted at NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Glenn talks about the purpose of the mission and the future of the manned space program. Fellow Mercury Seven astronauts Gus Grissom and Deke Slayton as well as NASA public affairs officer John “Shorty” Powers also answer questions. Special thanks to Kevin Vela, Ellyn Puckett, and Michael Cadwaller for their help cataloging this film.