The original seven Mercury astronauts look at a model of the rocket that would eventually launch their Mercury capsules into space. From the left, front row: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Donald "Deke" Slayton, Gordon Cooper. From the left, back row: Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra, John Glenn.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of NASA
John Glenn Receives Another 'Go'!
News story originally written on January 19, 1998
In 1959, John Glenn was chosen to be a Mercury Astronaut. He became the first American to orbit the Earth. Some things haven't changed - Glenn still has the right stuff!
NASA just announced that Glenn, who is 76 years old, will fly on the shuttle Discovery in October.
This shuttle flight will be much different than his flight 36 years ago in the small Mercury capsule. The Discovery mission will last 10 days, not just five hours like his Mercury trip did. This time Glenn will be part of a seven person team, not flying solo.
In October, Glenn will become the oldest person to fly in space. So this Discovery mission will focus on how people age in space.
You might also be interested in:
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...more
A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very
...more
J.S. Maini of the Canadian Forest Service called forests the "heart and lungs of the world." This is because forests filter air and water pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and maintain
...more
In late April through mid-May 2002, all five naked-eye planets are visible at the same time in the night sky! This is includes Mercury which is generally very hard to see. You won't want to miss this!
...more
