| By
GORDON I. PETERSON, Senior Editor
When Marine Corps Maj. John H. Glenn's Friendship 7 spacecraft was launched into orbit on
the morning of 20 February 1962, Life magazine later reported, 4,000 commuters crowded
into New York City's Grand Central Station and remained there for hours to watch the event
on a giant CBS-TV television screen mounted in the main concourse. "It's a fine
feeling to walk into this place and be emotional about something other than a late
train," one commuter told Life.
The mission controller for Friendship 7 captured those emotions as the 3,000-pound
spacecraft rose to the heavens: "God speed, John Glenn!" he said.
History was repeated on 7 November 1998 when the space shuttle Discovery touched down at
Florida's Kennedy Space Center to conclude a nine-day, 3.6-million-mile mission. Millions
of television viewers around the world--captivated by Payload Specialist Glenn's inspiring
performance--observed Discovery's return to earth. As a 77-year-old grandfather, Glenn is
now 40 years after the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)--the oldest space traveler.
Glenn's mark on history reaches back to
his days as a Marine Corps aviator and test pilot. A WWII veteran of the war in the
Pacific, he requested combat duty during the Korean War. His decorations include six
Distinguished Flying Crosses and numerous Air Medals for heroism during 149 aerial
missions in two wars.
In 1957, Glenn set a transcontinental speed record in an F8U Crusader fighter jet on the
first flight (from Los Angeles to New York) to average supersonic speeds. Two years later,
he was selected as one of the first seven astronauts in the fledgling Mercury program. He
made history as the first American to orbit earth----completing three revolutions during a
five-hour flight for which he received the Space Congressional Medal of Honor. Unlike
Discovery's textbook conclusion to the shuttle mission, Glenn's 1962 landing occurred 800
miles southeast of Bermuda in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where he was recovered by
the destroyer USS Noa.
Retiring from the U.S. space program in 1965, and from the Marine Corps (in the rank of
colonel), Glenn embarked on a political career in his native state of Ohio while serving
as a business executive with Royal Crown International. In 1974, he carried all 88
counties in Ohio to win election to the U.S. Senate. Glenn made political history again in
1992 by being the first popularly elected Senator from Ohio to win four consecutive terms
in Congress. Before retiring this year, Glenn won high respect from his colleagues on both
sides of the aisle for his work in government and his many contributions to several Senate
committees, including the Committee on Government Affairs and the Committee on Armed
Services.
The Discovery astronaut provided a telling insight into the motivation behind his
political career in a message beamed from the shuttle before Election Day. In reminding
U.S. citizens to turn out and vote, Glenn said, "I consider public service ... one of
the highest callings you can have outside the ministry."
Newspapers across the United States described how Glenn's shuttle mission rekindled
interest in the U.S. space program, and in the basic sciences, for a new generation of
American school children. The Cincinnati Enquirer related how students at the Cincinnati
Academy of Math and Science began the countdown in unison as they viewed the launch on
television. There was just one question l 1-year-old Matthew Smith had for Glenn, The
Cincinnati Enquirer reported: "Who's the youngest person that's ever going to be in
space?"
Glenn, who attracted some good-natured ribbing from fellow astronauts for his expansive
comments during televised press conferences, was more succinct during an interview with
students in his hometown of New Concord, Ohio, on 31 October. Asked if the Discovery
mission was worth a wait of 36 years, he replied, "Yes--a one-word answer; I guess I
should just stop there."
It is not clear just where, or when, John Glenn will stop in his public-service career now
that he has completed his epic shuttle flight. Another return to space is not likely. The
manned phase of NASA's program, launched by Glenn and his six Mercury comrades in 1959,
will transition this month to the five-year program to construct the International Space
Station. Asked if he would try to convince NASA to send him aloft one more time, Glenn
said that another mission would have to be cleared with his wife Annie. "I'm not sure
she would sign on for many more," Glenn stated. It has been reported that Glenn will
continue to remain active in public life, a future consistent with his past-----dating to
his enlistment in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program shortly after the attack on Pearl
Harbor during World War II.
"God speed, John Glenn!"
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