GREAT AVIATION QUOTES
JOHN GLENN

Godspeed, John Glenn.

Scott Carpenter

Radio transmission from the Pad 14 blockhouse as Friendship 7 lifted off, but not over the ground-to-air circuit and so not heard by John Glenn. From 'God Spede you,' or God prosper you, which is a 15th century Middle English expression of good wishes to a person starting a journey. Test conductor Tom O'Malley followed with “May the good Lord ride all the way”. 20 February 1962.

Carpenter later explained in a NASA Johnson Space Center oral-history interview that he was in the blockhouse handling communications with Glenn, and that sometime “between 10 and zero” in the count he said the line. He recalled: “Godspeed is something you hear all the time; but speed was very, very important to John,” and said the phrase came to him as both a salute and almost a plea for the flight’s success.

See two other Scott Carpenter great aviation quotes.

I was sold on flying as soon as I had a taste for it.

John Glenn

Quoted in John Glenn: Astronaut and Senator, 2000.

My condition is good, but that was a real fireball, boy.

John Glenn

During re-entry of Friendship 7, approximately 04:47:59 mission elapsed time, 20 February 1962. John Glenn’s Official Communication with the Command Center, National Archives. He continued, “I had great chunks of that retropack breaking off all the way through.”

Zero-g and I feel fine. Capsule is turning around … Oh, that view is tremendous!

John Glenn

First American in orbit, radio transmission from Friendship 7. NASA scientists were still debating how humans would handle long periods of zero g, and there were many health concerns. 00:05:15 mission elapsed time, 20 February 1962. Quoted in Read You Loud and Clear!: The Story of NASA’s Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network, NASA SP-2007-4233, 2008.

I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there will be a massive reward for you in eternity.

John Glenn

Note carried by John Glenn on his historic flight, translated into several languages, for use if he splashed down in the remote South Pacific seas.

It was quite a day. I don’t know what you can say about a day when you see four beautiful sunsets — three in orbit and one on the surface. This is a little unusual, I think.

John Glenn

Cape Canaveral press conference after Friendship 7 mission, February 23, 1962.

It was quite a day … I don’t know what you can say about a day when you see four beautiful sunsets — three in orbit and one on the surface. This is a little unusual, I think.

John Glenn

After becoming first American to orbit the Earth in space. Press conference at Cape Canaveral, 23 February 1962.

The men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes and come back and help design and build and test them. The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order.

John Glenn

Testimony before U.S. House subcommittee, July 1962. His position later evolved.

We are going to have failures. There are going to be sacrifices made in the program; we've been lucky so far. If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.

Virgil "Gus" Grissom

He said this after John Glenn returned from space. It was published after Grissom's death in Time magazine. On 27 January 1967, astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee died from a flash fire aboard the Apollo 1 spacecraft during a ground test.

See one other Virgil Grissom great aviation quote.