Intimate Pictures of John Glenn's Historic Mission to Orbit Earth
Upon landing in 1962, Glenn said that a National Geographic photographer was the "first thing I saw when I got out of the suit."
John Glenn, who died Thursday at age 95, became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. A few months after his historic flight, he sent this note to Melville Bell Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society and then editor of National Geographic magazine:
National Geographic was involved in every step of the process as Glenn prepared for his flight, soared into orbit, and returned safely from space.
Photographer Dean Conger, who was on staff with the magazine, was assigned to NASA full time and had access to Glenn’s training and landing. Representatives from the magazine were also present at the launch site. They included writer Kenneth Weaver, who had won the magazine’s lottery for the opportunity to report on
