Science Past from the issue of April 21, 1962

GLENN REPORTS ON FLIGHT — The brilliant light from the “fireball” Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. saw passing the window of his space capsule was observed by more than 1,400 scientists at a symposium in Washington, D.C. A color film, showing the astronaut in his cabin during flight, clearly revealed reflections of the burning chunks of retro-pack flying off the space capsule’s heatshield. The astronaut’s silvery suit, his face, and instruments around him in the cabin were “washed over” with a bright orange glow every time a chunk went past the window.