The Whittaker Saga

As vacations end and work begins, Arthur is still not free from travelling. Almost as soon as he's back at work, he's sent all the way to Texas to see the new president speak. "I want you there to see it live," Bikle tells him. "It's not the same to hear it on the radio or see it on TV, I want someone there, at the university when he speaks." And so Arthur is in the crowd, when Kennedy announces the aim to reach the moon before the decade is over. By the time he returns home the next day, Arthur is ecstatic and energised. He pulls in Audie for an embrace as he returns, stating that perhaps she had known what she was doing voting for this guy. "He might turn out alright after all," he says before launching into a dramatic retelling of the speech. "You do know the speech was shown on the news?" she laughs, but Arthur dismisses her. "Not the entire thing, it's not the same." That night, Arthur and Audie goes outside to watc...

Early 1962, a space fever has caught the world. For months there has been speculation about the Mercury 7 mission and sending John Glen into space, but time and time again it has been postponed. But now it seems like it will actually happen. The media is at a frenzy with headlines such as Countdown Begins for Glenn’s Space Ride!" (The New York Times) "U.S. Set for Historic Space Shot" (Washington Post) "John Glenn: America’s First Orbital Astronaut" (San Francisco Chronicle) In schools they are preparing to air the orbit live, and at Thomas and Betty's the kids bring home a school project about space and the solar system. All three kids help work on it with enthusiasm and show it off with pride. For Arthur, the launch means another full day in the control room. Edwards is one of several tracking stations used to monitor the spacecraft in orbit, relaying telemetry data such as speed, altitude and Glen vitals, to Mercury Control Center in Florida, and help...