33. Born Ready.. Nascut pregatit

Born Ready

Nascut pregatit

33. Born Ready: Photo by Ralph Morse, 1959

This straightforward yet riveting portrait of astronaut John Glenn by LIFE's Ralph Morse -- a man who spent so much time chronicling the lives of the original Mercury 7 astronauts that Glenn himself dubbed Morse "the eighth Mercury astronaut" -- neatly captures the almost preternatural confidence and clear-eyed sense of purpose that Glenn and his colleagues not only shared, but embodied. It's easy to forget now, but during the race into space of the late 1950s and early 1960s, America seemed to forever be playing catch-up with the USSR. The Soviets beat the U.S. into space with Sputnik in 1957; in 1961, a cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in outer space. But less than a year after Gagarin's flight, when 39-year-old Glenn orbited Earth, NASA-- and the nation -- suddenly found itself with a genuine hero straight out of central casting: a blue-eyed, no-nonsense Marine Corps fighter pilot and Korean War vet (married to his high school sweetheart, no less) who quickly became the face of America's emerging preeminence in the era-defining Space Race. Morse's photograph, meanwhile, became the one image that an entire generation of Americans forever associated with John Glenn: a man who was born ready.

Nascut pregatit: Fotografie realizata de Ralph Morse, 1959

Fotograful revistei LIFE Ralph Morse, un barbat care a petrecut atata timp facand cronica vietilor astronautilor pe pe Mercury 7 incat unul din astronauti l-a numit pe Morse "al optulea astronaut pe Mercury" a realizat acest portret simplu însa consolidat despre astronautul John Glenn, surprinde cu o claritate aproape supranaturala scopul bine definit pe care Glenn si colegii sai nu doar l-au impartasit ci l-au intrupat. Ar fi usor de uitat acum, dar in timpul cursei spatiale a sfaritului anilor 1950 si inceputul anilor 1960, America parea sa joace intotdeauna un joc de-a prinselea cu URSS. Sovieticii au invins SUA cu lansarea in spatiu a Sputnik-ului in 1957, in 1961, un cosmonaut numit Yuri Gagarin a devenit primul om care a calatorit in spatiul cosmic. Dar in mai putin de un an dupa zborul lui Gagarin, atunci cand la 39 de ani Glenn a orbitat in jurul Pamantului, NASA si intreaga natiune, brusc au aflat un erou autentic direct dintr-o distributie centrala: un pilot de vanatoare inrolat in Corpul Marinei Militare, cu o judecata sanatoasa, cu ochi albastrii si un veteran al razboiului din Coreea (casatorit cu nu mai putin decat iubita lui din liceu), care a emers rapid ca o fata proeminenta a Americii in era definita de Concursul Spatial. Fotografia lui Morse, intre timp, a devenit o imagine pe care o intreaga generatie de americani au asociat-o pentru totdeauna cu John Glenn: un om care s-a nascut pregatit.

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VIZUALIZEAZA PAGINA PRINCIPALA: 75 de fotografii deosebite de la revista LIFE

Sursa/ source: http://life.time.com/