John Glenn Splashdown Site

Cockburn Town has a small monument and exhibit, near the museum, marking the brief but significant role Grand Turk played in the early American space programme. The actual splashdown was offshore — but Glenn was officially "returned to civilisation" through the island, and the local connection has been retained as a point of pride.

Worth ten minutes. The displays inside the museum cover the same ground in more depth.

things to do sight
A story
On 20 February 1962, John Glenn's Mercury-Atlas 6 capsule splashed down in the sea about 100 km southeast of Grand Turk. Glenn was brought ashore on the island, where he was debriefed and rested before being flown to a U.S. Navy ship. The Turks and Caicos issued a commemorative stamp the same year.

Other places in Things to Do