NASA’s first space photos restored in stunning detail

ON 20 February 1962, NASA astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, but there were signs of trouble. As Glenn’s Friendship 7 spacecraft returned from its historic flight, a warning light indicated its heat shield had unlatched, risking complete incineration. This image (above) captures Glenn at the moment he reenters Earth’s atmosphere, pieces of the burning spacecraft casting a fiery orange glow on his face.

Fortunately, Glenn splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean minutes later. A faulty switch in the heat shield circuit was to blame for the alarm.

The image is featured in a new book, Gemini and Mercury Remastered, which celebrates these early NASA missions through masterfully restored photographs and film stills.

Another significant moment came earlier in the flight, when Glenn used a camera he had purchased from a shop near the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to snap the first photograph taken by a human in space (pictured above). Later photos by astronauts showed Earth in unprecedented ways, and NASA realised the scientific and public value of such space photography.

Gemini and Mercury Remastered by Andy Saunders, who restored the NASA images himself, is out in the UK from 28 August.

Gemini and Mercury photos, restored
See more remastered images from these historic space missions below.