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  John Glenn/Friendship 7 1962 world tour covers

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Author Topic:   John Glenn/Friendship 7 1962 world tour covers
Cozmosis22
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Posts: 1115
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 12-28-2016 11:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
After his orbital flight in February of 1962 astronaut John Glenn and his Mercury space capsule visited many nations of the world. Here are a couple of commemorative covers from that time. I am still looking, as there must be numerous others.

Ken Havekotte
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Posts: 3615
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-28-2016 06:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
An interesting topic as I do have some covers commemorating Glenn's "Friendship 7 worldwide tour stops," however, I've only got a few myself (lacking many) and there must be many other issues out there. Maybe even a full set of them might be possible, but I am not aware of any.

I think Friendship 7 started its 3-month "fourth orbit" worldwide exhibition in May 1962 with a first stop-visit at the Science Museum in London. From there, some of the countries that were visited were Spain, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Egypt, France, Nigeria, Japan, the Philippines, and parts of Asia.

It was reported that more than four million people viewed the history-making Mercury orbital spacecraft during the international tour with Asia being the most well received.

Joel Katzowitz
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From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-29-2016 07:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Interesting. I have a security pass issued to and signed (twice) by Glenn dated May 8, 1962. Which was just five days after his visit with Titov in DC. I've always assumed that the pass was for entry into Cape Canaveral, but in taking a closer look there is no facility identification on it. It was issued by the U.S. Government and lists Glenn's organization with a hand written "NASA". I wonder if it's tied into the World Tour.

MarylandSpace
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posted 12-29-2016 09:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for MarylandSpace   Click Here to Email MarylandSpace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I always enjoy my daily history classes with the vast knowledge my collectSPACE "professors" share with me and others online. My bonus classes are when I can attend live presentations by astronauts themselves.

Ken Havekotte
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Posts: 3615
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-29-2016 04:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Joel Katzowitz:
I have a security pass issued to and signed (twice) by Glenn dated May 8, 1962.
Your NASA Glenn badge, Joel, sounds like a high-level security clearance badge to all NASA field centers and possibly other governmental and military facilities that Glenn may have or needed to visit. If there is no designated space center on the badge issue, are there any numbers on it and maybe a red border around it?

Cozmosis22
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From: Texas * Earth
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posted 12-29-2016 06:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Here are a couple more that may belong in this series.

Joel Katzowitz
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Posts: 856
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-29-2016 07:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ken Havekotte:
...are there any numbers on it and maybe a red border around it?
The pass is light blue with no border. The number on the bottom left corner of the pass reads: PAA 37-6.

Ken Havekotte
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Posts: 3615
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-29-2016 08:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Not what I was thinking about, Joel, as the pass isn't the highest level "all access" security photo-badge that I have seen beforehand from several of the earlier NASA astronauts.

It appears to be issued by Pan American Airways in May 1962, the Atlantic Missile Range of the Cape side.

In my opinion, though, its more of a secondary or visitor-type access permit to a particular area that Glenn had a reason to visit (and probably just on that single day).

During the Mercury era, PAA was the overall missile base complex "housekeeping" contractor that handled and supervised all the Cape-side security and fire services.

Normally this type of a non-photo ID authorization pass, not laminated as well, would not be needed for such a person like Glenn. But apparently the form had been briefly filled-in and signed by the MA-6 pilot, less than three months after his epic Friendship 7 space voyage.

Cozmosis22
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Posts: 1115
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 12-29-2016 08:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
PAA ~ Pan Am Airways pass card on the way back from Buenos Aires?

Joel Katzowitz
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Posts: 856
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-30-2016 07:30 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ken, any idea what the "LBH" stands for? I've seen the same initials on several other temporary passes including one in a box labeled "Date (s) Valid".

Ken Havekotte
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Posts: 3615
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 12-30-2016 08:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am guessing "LBH" would be the initials of the security clerk issuing the pass to Glenn. Note that Glenn only signed the pass while someone else, possibly "LBH," filled-in the rest of it. A nice vintage authorization pass signed by Glenn, and twice at that, Joel!

unknown symmetry
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From: UK
Registered: Oct 2015

posted 01-13-2017 01:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for unknown symmetry   Click Here to Email unknown symmetry     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Was this part of a separate later tour? Or an extension of that earlier 62 tour? This is a Friendship 7 cover signed by John Glenn and postmarked for Hamburg in Germany.

Axman
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Posts: 15
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023

posted 05-19-2023 05:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Axman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The fourth orbit world tour began in Hamilton Bermuda on April 20th 1962. The capsule (without Glenn) went on to tour more than 20 countries in three months, including all with a NASA tracking station.

It went via Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. It visited Argentina and the Philippines — which are the only two covers pictured above which are part of the fourth orbit world tour. The others depicted are extraneous to that tour.

All times are CT (US)

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