Chapter 12, "The Tears" Summary

Just as the space program appears secure, The Chief Designer strikes again. The Russians put a man into orbit for a full day, passing three times over the U.S., and landing him back on Russian soil. Suddenly everyone is concerned about "the space gap." The American program is speeded up and Glenn is assigned to ride an Atlas rocket into orbit. At Edwards, Bob White takes the X-15 nearly as high as Grissom or Shepard, using rockets nearly as big flying nearly as fast, is weightless nearly as long and all of this in a manned, piloted flight - and the press cares nothing at all. A second chimp, named Enos for the benefit of the press, makes two orbits and is safely retrieved. NASA announces that John Glenn will be the pilot for the first...