May 3, 1962 - Astronauts of the U.S. and the Soviet Union shared a platform in Washington today to tell an international gathering of scientists about their experiences orbiting in space. The day also included a joint news conference by the space pioneers of the two nations — Col. John H. Glenn Jr. and Maj. Gherman S. Titov — and the introduction of the Soviet astronaut to President Kennedy at the White House. Colonel Glenn and his wife, Anna, escorted Major Titov and his wife, Tamara, on a tour of Washington. They went up the Washington Monument, to the Smithsonian Institution to see the Mercury capsule piloted by Comdr. Alan B. Shepard Jr. on his suborbital flight a year ago, and then across the Potomac to the Tomb of the Unknowns. As the two astronauts rode the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument, Major Titov remarked to Colonel Glenn: “This is the first joint Soviet-American venture into space.” The climax of the tour was a visit to the White House and a 15-minute visit with President Kennedy, who told the 26-year-old Russian that he was “very welcome in the United States.”
Comments