John Glenn Signed Flight Plan for the Mercury-Atlas 6 Mission

Original NASA manual entitled “Flight Plan for Mercury-Atlas Mission 6,” dated December 21, 1961, issued as Copy 206, signed on the front cover in black felt tip, “Best regards – John Glenn, 3-2-03.” The manual, 109 pages, 8 x 10.5, features sections for the First, Second, and Third Orbits, as well as 22 reference pages. The front cover bears an ownership notation, "Luetjen," presumably aerospace engineer H. H. 'Luge' Luetjen. In fine condition, with light stains and staple holes to the front cover. Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was NASA’s first orbital human spaceflight, launched on February 20, 1962, with astronaut John Glenn aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7. Riding an Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral, Glenn completed three orbits of Earth in about 4 hours and 55 minutes, becoming the first American to orbit the planet and the fifth person in space overall.

H. H. 'Luge' Luetjen (1925–2016) was a McDonnell Douglas aerospace engineer who spent 39 years working on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. As a Mercury spacecraft test conductor at Kennedy Space Center, he worked closely with the 'Original 7' astronauts and helped hire pad leader Guenter Wendt. He later served on the Apollo 204 Review Board, contributing to NASA’s investigation following the Apollo 1 fire.