Major Matt Mason was an action figure created by Mattel . He was an astronaut who lived and worked on the Moon . When introduced in 1966, the figures were initially based on design information found in Life Magazine , Air Force Magazine , Jane's , and other aviation- and space-interest periodicals. Later, the line attempted to transition into the realm of science fiction .
172-486: The toy line included four astronaut action figure characters sharing a common body molded of a rubber-like material called "Plastizol" (which was also used in the Mattel "Thing Maker" toy line and "Mister Twister" line of fishing bait). The body was molded over a wire armature, with a separately attached head and a removable space helmet based on early NASA helmets. The wire frame often suffered from metal fatigue, breaking at
344-684: A U.S. Senator from Ohio ; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77. Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II , the Chinese Civil War , and the Korean War . He shot down three MiG-15s and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals . In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. His on-board camera took
516-485: A private pilot license and a physics course credit for free through the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1941. He did not complete his senior year in residence or take a proficiency exam, both required by the school for its Bachelor of Science degree. When the United States entered World War II, Glenn quit college to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps . He was not called to duty by
688-490: A "hapless political rube", and one newspaper called him "the ultimate square". Metzenbaum lost the general election to Robert Taft Jr. Glenn remained active in the political scene following his defeat. Governor John J. Gilligan appointed Glenn to be the chairman of the Citizens Task Force on Environmental Protection in 1970. The task force was created to survey environmental problems in the state and released
860-590: A bicycle, after which he took a job delivering The Columbus Dispatch newspaper. He was a member of the Ohio Rangers , an organization similar to the Cub Scouts . His boyhood home in New Concord has been restored as a historic house museum and education center. Glenn attended New Concord High School , where he played on the varsity football team as a center and linebacker . He also made
1032-488: A bunny dressed as an astronaut beating a drum, with an announcer saying, "He just keeps owing and owing and owing", a play on the Energizer Bunny . During a debate, Glenn asked DeWine to stop his negative campaign ads, saying "This has been the most negative campaign". DeWine responded that he would if Glenn would disclose how he spent the money he received from Charles Keating , fallout from Glenn being named one of
1204-628: A decade of reliance on the Russians. In 2019, NASA announced the Artemis program , intending to return to the Moon and establish a permanent human presence. This was paired with the Artemis Accords with partner nations to establish rules of behavior and norms of space commercialization on the Moon. In 2023, NASA established the Moon to Mars Program office. The office is designed to oversee
1376-423: A failure of the automatic-control system was detected. This forced Glenn to operate in manual mode for the second and third orbits, and for re-entry. Later in the flight, telemetry indicated that the heat shield had loosened. If this reading had been accurate, Glenn and his spacecraft would have burned up on re-entry. After a lengthy discussion on how to deal with this problem, ground controllers decided that leaving
1548-730: A grueling series of physical and psychological tests began at the Lovelace Clinic and the Wright Aerospace Medical Laboratory . Because of his Bureau of Aeronautics job, Glenn was already participating in Project Mercury; while other candidates were at Wright, on March 17 he and most of those who would choose the astronauts visited the McDonnell plant building the spacecraft to inspect its progress and make changes. While Glenn had not scored
1720-495: A history-book figure into a likable, thoroughly adoration-worthy Hollywood hero," turning him into a big-screen icon. Others considered the movie to be damaging to Glenn's campaign, serving as only a reminder that Glenn's most significant achievement had occurred decades earlier. Glenn's autobiography said the film "had a chilling effect on the campaign." William White managed Glenn's campaign until his replacement by Jerry Vento on January 26, 1984. Glenn's campaign decided to forgo
1892-461: A massive reward for you in eternity" in several languages, in case he landed near southern Pacific Ocean islands. The original procedure called for Glenn to exit through the top hatch, but he was uncomfortably warm and decided that egress through the side hatch would be faster. During the flight, he endured up to 7.8 g of acceleration and traveled 75,679 miles (121,794 km) at about 17,500 miles per hour (28,200 km/h). The flight took Glenn to
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#17328020994932064-453: A maximum altitude (apogee) of about 162 miles (261 km) and a minimum altitude of 100 miles (160 km) (perigee). Unlike the crewed missions of Soviet Union 's Vostok programme , Glenn remained within the spacecraft during landing. The flight made Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth, the third American in space, and the fifth human in space. The mission, which Glenn called
2236-647: A month after the Soviet Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, executing a full orbital spaceflight. NASA's first orbital spaceflight was conducted by John Glenn on February 20, 1962, in the Friendship 7 , making three full orbits before reentering. Glenn had to fly parts of his final two orbits manually due to an autopilot malfunction. The sixth and final Mercury mission was flown by Gordon Cooper in May 1963, performing 22 orbits over 34 hours in
2408-485: A more centrist president would help unite the country. Glenn believed his experience as a senator from Ohio was ideal because of the state's diversity. Glenn thought that Ted Kennedy could win the election, but after Kennedy's announcement in late 1982 that he would not seek the presidency, Glenn thought he had a much better chance of winning. He hired a media consultant to help him with his speaking style. Glenn announced his candidacy for president on April 21, 1983, in
2580-583: A permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade. In 1985, NASA proposed the Space Station Freedom , which both the agency and President Reagan intended to be an international program. While this would add legitimacy to the program, there were concerns within NASA that the international component would dilute its authority within the project, having never been willing to work with domestic or international partners as true equals. There
2752-495: A place on the board of directors. The company later expanded Glenn's role, promoting him to president of Royal Crown International. A Senate seat was open in 1968, and Glenn was asked about his current political aspirations. He said he had no current plan, and "Let's talk about it one of these days." Glenn also said that a 1970 Senate run was a possibility. In 1973, he and a friend bought a Holiday Inn near Disney World . The success of Disney World expanded to their business, and
2924-650: A possible source of antimatter at the center of the Milky Way and observing that the majority of gamma-ray bursts occur outside of the Milky Way galaxy. The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched from the Columbia on STS-93 in 1999, observing black holes, quasars , supernova , and dark matter . It provided critical observations on the Sagittarius A* black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy and
3096-581: A recovery time of one year. Glenn did not want to win solely because of his astronaut fame, so he dropped out of the race on March 30. Glenn was still on leave from the Marine Corps, and he withdrew his papers to retire so he could keep a salary and health benefits. Glenn was on the list of potential candidates to be promoted to full colonel, but he notified the Commandant of the Marine Corps of his intention to retire so another Marine could receive
3268-503: A report in 1971 detailing the issues. The meetings and the final report of the task force were major contributors to the formation of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency . In 1973, President Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox . Richardson refused and resigned in protest, triggering the Saturday Night massacre . Ohio Senator William Saxbe , elected in 1968,
3440-496: A script based on Michael Chabon 's short story about Mason. NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA / ˈ n æ s ə / ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program , aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958 , it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give
3612-606: A second one on July 19, and a third on July 22 when four Sabres shot down three MiGs. These were the final air victories of the war, which ended with an armistice five days later. For his service in Korea, Glenn received two more Distinguished Flying Crosses and eight more Air Medals. Glenn also received the Korean Service Medal (with two campaign stars), United Nations Korea Medal , Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal , National Defense Service Medal (with one star), and
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#17328020994933784-505: A service adviser to NASA's spacecraft mockup board. Envisioning himself in the vehicle, Glenn stated that the passenger would have to be able to control the spacecraft. McDonnell engineers told him of the importance of lightening the vehicle as much as possible, so Glenn began exercising to lose the 30 pounds (14 kg) by which he estimated he was overweight. Eisenhower directed NASA to recruit its first astronauts from military test pilots. Of 508 graduates of test pilot schools, 110 matched
3956-461: A significant funding advantage over Glenn. Glenn's camp persuaded him to be thrifty during the primary so he could save money for the general election. By the end of the primary campaign, Metzenbaum was spending four times as much as Glenn. Glenn was defeated in the Democratic primary by Metzenbaum (who received 51 percent of the vote to Glenn's 49 percent). Some prominent Democrats said Glenn was
4128-654: A six-month course. He then joined the staff of the commandant of the Marine Corps Schools. He maintained his proficiency (and flight pay) by flying on weekends, although he was only allowed four hours of flying time per month. He was promoted to major in July 1952. Glenn received the World War II Victory Medal , American Campaign Medal , Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with one star ), Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp), and
4300-540: A space station since the agency was created. In 1973, following the end of the Apollo lunar missions, NASA launched its first space station, Skylab , on the final launch of the Saturn V. Skylab reused a significant amount of Apollo and Saturn hardware, with a repurposed Saturn V third stage serving as the primary module for the space station. Damage to Skylab during its launch required spacewalks to be performed by
4472-461: A tentative budget of $ 100 million and Tom Hanks set to star. A script was in development, co-written by Hanks and Graham Yost , about Major Matt Mason, an astronaut who lives and works on the Moon . The producers were trying to reach an agreement with Robert Zemeckis to direct the film. On September 7, 2019, Paramount Pictures acquired the film and Akiva Goldsman producing with Hanks and writing
4644-519: A yellow suit and brown hair; Jeff Long was African-American , with a blue suit (almost two decades before Guion Bluford became the first American black man to orbit the Earth). Mason figures produced in 1966 are identified by blue straps on the space-suit. These straps were painted black in subsequent production years. The primary alien of the sci-fi period, Captain Lazer , was a giant who towered over
4816-528: Is a 19-year-old from the Upper West Side who reminisces of playing with the Matt Mason line from Mattel as a kid. Author M. Mitchell Marmel has used "Major Matt Mason" as a nom de plume since the early 1980s. The character had a brief mention in the 1984 Garfield book Garfield: His 9 Lives in the ninth chapter, "Space Cat". A 3D film based on the toy series was announced in 2011, with
4988-590: The Faith 7 . The Mercury Program was wildly recognized as a resounding success, achieving its objectives to orbit a human in space, develop tracking and control systems, and identify other issues associated with human spaceflight. While much of NASA's attention turned to space, it did not put aside its aeronautics mission. Early aeronautics research attempted to build upon the X-1's supersonic flight to build an aircraft capable of hypersonic flight . The North American X-15
5160-485: The 1964 United States Senate election in Ohio , challenging aging incumbent Stephen M. Young (1889–1984) in the Democratic primary election. As it seemed unlikely that he would be selected for Project Apollo missions, he resigned from NASA on January 16, 1964, and announced his Democratic Party candidacy for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Ohio the following day, becoming the first astronaut-politician . Glenn
5332-693: The Army Ballistic Missile Agency would launch Explorer 1 , America's first satellite, on February 1, 1958. The Eisenhower Administration decided to split the United States' military and civil spaceflight programs, which were organized together under the Defense Department 's Advanced Research Projects Agency . NASA was established on July 29, 1958, with the signing of the National Aeronautics and Space Act and it began operations on October 1, 1958. As
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5504-803: The Bell X-1 in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force . NACA's interest in space grew out of its rocketry program at the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division. The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in the Space Age and kicked off the Space Race . Despite NACA's early rocketry program, the responsibility for launching the first American satellite fell to the Naval Research Laboratory 's Project Vanguard , whose operational issues ensured
5676-662: The Big Bang , through the James Webb Space Telescope , the four Great Observatories , and associated programs. The Launch Services Program oversees launch operations for its uncrewed launches . NASA traces its roots to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Despite being the birthplace of aviation, by 1914 the United States recognized that it was far behind Europe in aviation capability. Determined to regain American leadership in aviation,
5848-622: The Big Bang . The James Webb Space Telescope , named after the NASA administrator who lead the Apollo program, is an infrared observatory launched in 2021. The James Webb Space Telescope is a direct successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, intended to observe the formation of the first galaxies. Other space telescopes include the Kepler space telescope , launched in 2009 to identify planets orbiting extrasolar stars that may be Terran and possibly harbor life. The first exoplanet that
6020-710: The China Service Medal for his efforts. Glenn moved his family back to New Concord during a short period of leave, and after two and a half months of jet training at Cherry Point, was ordered to South Korea in October 1952, late in the Korean War. Before he set out for Korea in February 1953, he applied to fly the F-86 Sabre jet fighter-interceptor through an inter-service exchange position with
6192-981: The Commercial Crew Program , and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program . NASA's science division is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System ; advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate 's Heliophysics Research Program; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and planetary rovers such as Perseverance ; and researching astrophysics topics, such as
6364-797: The Environmental Science Services Administration on a series of weather satellites and the agency launched its experimental Applications Technology Satellites into geosynchronous orbit. NASA's first dedicated Earth observation satellite, Landsat , was launched in 1972. This led to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly developing the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and discovering Ozone depletion . NASA had been pursuing spaceplane development since
6536-691: The Europa and observed that the moon may hold ice or liquid water. A joint NASA- European Space Agency - Italian Space Agency mission, Cassini–Huygens , was sent to Saturn 's moon Titan , which, along with Mars and Europa, are the only celestial bodies in the Solar System suspected of being capable of harboring life. Cassini discovered three new moons of Saturn and the Huygens probe entered Titan's atmosphere. The mission discovered evidence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes on Titan and subsurface water oceans on
6708-463: The F9F Panther jet fighter-bomber . Glenn's first mission was a reconnaissance flight on February 26. He flew 63 combat missions in Korea with VMF-311 and was nicknamed "Magnet Ass" because of the number of flak hits he took on low-level close air support missions; twice, he returned to base with over 250 holes in his plane. He flew for a time with Marine reservist Ted Williams (then in
6880-775: The FJ-3 Fury , nearly killed him when its cockpit depressurized and its oxygen system failed. He also tested the armament of aircraft such as the Vought F7U Cutlass and F8U Crusader . From November 1956 to April 1959, he was assigned to the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C., and attended the University of Maryland . On July 16, 1957, Glenn made
7052-806: The Foreign Relations Committee . He was immediately assigned to the Government Operations Committee and waited for a seat on the Foreign Relations Committee. In 1977, Glenn wanted to chair the Energy, Nuclear Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs Committee. Abraham Ribicoff , chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, said he could chair the subcommittee if he also chaired
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7224-590: The John Glenn High School gymnasium. He started out the campaign out-raising the front-runner, Mondale. He also polled the highest of any Democrat against Reagan. During the fall of 1983, The Right Stuff , a film about the Mercury Seven astronauts, was released. Reviewers saw Ed Harris ' portrayal of Glenn as heroic and his staff began to publicize the film to the press. One reviewer said that "Harris' depiction helped transform Glenn from
7396-784: The Johnson Space Center as the lead center for the design, development, and manufacturing of the Space Shuttle orbiter , while the Marshall Space Flight Center would lead the development of the launch system. NASA's series of lifting body aircraft, culminating in the joint NASA-U.S. Air Force Martin Marietta X-24 , directly informed the development of the Space Shuttle and future hypersonic flight aircraft. Official development of
7568-691: The Keating Five . Glenn won the Senate seat, with 2.4 million votes to DeWine's 2 million votes. It was DeWine's first-ever campaign loss. DeWine later worked on the intelligence committee with Glenn and watched his second launch into space. Glenn requested to be assigned to two committees during his first year as senator: the Government Operations Committee (later known as the Committee on Governmental Affairs), and
7740-424: The Korean War Service Medal . With combat experience as a fighter pilot, Glenn applied for training as a test pilot while still in Korea. He reported to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland in January 1954 and graduated in July. At Patuxent River, future Medal of Honor recipient James Stockdale tutored him in physics and math. Glenn's first flight test assignment, testing
7912-404: The Mars Global Surveyor orbiter and Mars Pathfinder , deploying the first Mars rover, Sojourner . During the early 2000s, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter reached the planet and in 2004 the Sprit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red Planet. This was followed in 2005 by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2007 Phoenix Mars lander. The 2012 landing of Curiosity discovered that
8084-447: The Medal of Honor , but Glenn did not think that would be appropriate. His military and space awards were stolen from his home in 1978, and he remarked that he would keep this medal in a safe. In 1962, NASA contemplated recruiting women to the astronaut corps via the Mercury 13 , but Glenn gave a speech before the House Space Committee detailing his opposition to sending women into space, in which he said: I think this gets back to
8256-408: The Orbiting Geophysical Observatory in the 1960s and 1970s to look down at Earth and observe its interactions with the Sun. The Uhuru satellite was the first dedicated x-ray telescope, mapping 85% of the sky and discovering a large number of black holes . Launched in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Great Observatories program are among NASA's most powerful telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope
8428-405: The STS-1 mission, designed to serve as a flight test for the new spaceplane. NASA intended for the Space Shuttle to replace expendable launch systems like the Air Force's Atlas , Delta , and Titan and the European Space Agency 's Ariane . The Space Shuttle's Spacelab payload, developed by the European Space Agency, increased the scientific capabilities of shuttle missions over anything NASA
8600-415: The STS-60 mission in 1994 and the Discovery rendezvoused, but did not dock with, the Russian Mir in the STS-63 mission. This was followed by Atlantis' STS-71 mission where it accomplished the initial intended mission for the Space Shuttle, docking with a space station and transferring supplies and personnel. The Shuttle- Mir program would continue until 1998, when a series of orbital accidents on
8772-417: The Space Race when the Soviet Union gave up its lunar ambitions. As the first human to step on the surface of the Moon, Neil Armstrong uttered the now famous words: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. NASA would conduct six total lunar landings as part of the Apollo program, with Apollo 17 concluding the program in 1972. Wernher von Braun had advocated for NASA to develop
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#17328020994938944-507: The Space Shuttle began in 1972, with Rockwell International contracted to design the orbiter and engines, Martin Marietta for the external fuel tank , and Morton Thiokol for the solid rocket boosters . NASA acquired six orbiters: the Enterprise , Columbia , Challenger , Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour The Space Shuttle program also allowed NASA to make major changes to its Astronaut Corps . While almost all previous astronauts were Air Force or Naval test pilots,
9116-412: The U.S. Air Force (USAF). In preparation, he arranged with Colonel Leon W. Gray to check out the F-86 at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts . Glenn reported to K-3 , an airbase in South Korea, on February 3, 1953, and was assigned to be the operations officer for VMF-311 , one of two Marine fighter squadrons there while he waited for the exchange assignment to go through. VMF-311 was equipped with
9288-480: The United States Congress created the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914 and established NACA in 1915 to foster aeronautical research and development. Over the next forty years, NACA would conduct aeronautical research in support of the U.S. Air Force , U.S. Army , U.S. Navy , and the civil aviation sector. After the end of World War II , NACA became interested in the possibilities of guided missiles and supersonic aircraft, developing and testing
9460-405: The inner planets . Despite these successes, Congress was unwilling to fund further interplanetary missions and NASA Administrator James Webb suspended all future interplanetary probes to focus resources on the Apollo program. Following the conclusion of the Apollo program, NASA resumed launching interplanetary probes and expanded its space science program. The first planet tagged for exploration
9632-415: The "best day of his life", renewed U.S. confidence. His flight occurred while the U.S. and the Soviet Union were embroiled in the Cold War and competing in the Space Race. As the first American in orbit, Glenn became a national hero, met President John F. Kennedy , and received a ticker-tape parade in New York reminiscent of those honoring Charles Lindbergh and other heroes. He became "so valuable to
9804-420: The 1960s, blending the administration's dual aeronautics and space missions. NASA viewed a spaceplane as part of a larger program, providing routine and economical logistical support to a space station in Earth orbit that would be used as a hub for lunar and Mars missions. A reusable launch vehicle would then have ended the need for expensive and expendable boosters like the Saturn V . In 1969, NASA designated
9976-437: The 44 commercial companies that contracted with NASA to deploy their satellites to return to expendable launch vehicles. When the Space Shuttle returned to flight with the STS-26 mission, it had undergone significant modifications to improve its reliability and safety. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and United States initiated the Shuttle- Mir program . The first Russian cosmonaut flew on
10148-450: The Air Force as the military space lead. Plans for human spaceflight began in the U.S. Armed Forces prior to NASA's creation. The Air Force's Man in Space Soonest project formed in 1956, coupled with the Army's Project Adam, served as the foundation for Project Mercury . NASA established the Space Task Group to manage the program, which would conduct crewed sub-orbital flights with the Army's Redstone rockets and orbital flights with
10320-448: The Air Force's Atlas launch vehicles. While NASA intended for its first astronauts to be civilians, President Eisenhower directed that they be selected from the military. The Mercury 7 astronauts included three Air Force pilots, three Navy aviators, and one Marine Corps pilot. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space, performing a suborbital spaceflight in the Freedom 7 . This flight occurred less than
10492-410: The Apollo program. Despite attacks on the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon from the former president Dwight Eisenhower and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater , President Kennedy was able to protect NASA's growing budget, of which 50% went directly to human spaceflight and it was later estimated that, at its height, 5% of Americans worked on some aspect of the Apollo program. Mirroring
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#173280209949310664-478: The Army Ballistic Missile Agency's original Saturn I . The Apollo spacecraft was designed and built by North American Aviation , while the Apollo Lunar Module was designed and built by Grumman . To develop the spaceflight skills and equipment required for a lunar mission, NASA initiated Project Gemini . Using a modified Air Force Titan II launch vehicle, the Gemini capsule could hold two astronauts for flights of over two weeks. Gemini pioneered
10836-449: The British show, Here Come the Double Deckers , there is a toy shop in the episode "The Case of the Missing Doughnut" that has many Major Matt Mason items, including the Space Station. Major Matt Mason USA is the performing name of Matt Roth, a New York City-based musician and record producer, who is active in the Anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village. In Kenneth Lonergan 's play This Is Our Youth , Warren Straub
11008-437: The Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Glenn resigned from NASA in January 1964. A member of the Democratic Party , Glenn was first elected to the Senate in 1974 and served for 24 years until January 1999. In 1998, at age 77, Glenn flew on Space Shuttle Discovery 's STS-95 mission, making him
11180-426: The Department of Defense's program management concept using redundant systems in building the first intercontinental ballistic missiles, NASA requested the Air Force assign Major General Samuel C. Phillips to the space agency where he would serve as the director of the Apollo program. Development of the Saturn V rocket was led by Wernher von Braun and his team at the Marshall Space Flight Center , derived from
11352-447: The F9F Panther, patrolling MiG Alley . Combat with a MiG-15 , which was faster and better armed still, was regarded as a rite of passage for a fighter pilot. On the Air Force buses that ferried the pilots out to the airfields before dawn, pilots who had engaged a MiG could sit while those who had not had to stand. Glenn later wrote, "Since the days of the Lafayette Escadrille during World War I, pilots have viewed air-to-air combat as
11524-500: The Glenn Plumbing Company. Glenn Jr. was only a toddler when he met Anna Margaret (Annie) Castor , whom he would later marry. The two would not be able to recall a time when they did not know each other. He first flew in an airplane with his father when he was eight years old. He became fascinated by flight and built model airplanes from balsa wood kits. Along with his adopted sister Jean, he attended New Concord Elementary School. He washed cars and sold rhubarb to earn money to buy
11696-439: The Keplar space telescope confirmed was Kepler-22b , orbiting within the habitable zone of its star. NASA also launched a number of different satellites to study Earth, such as Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) in 1960, which was the first weather satellite. NASA and the United States Weather Bureau cooperated on future TIROS and the second generation Nimbus program of weather satellites. It also worked with
11868-399: The Major has reportedly accompanied several US Space Shuttle flights as an "unofficial crewman", and it has been confirmed that the figure did fly on John Glenn 's Shuttle flight in 1998. In the pilot episode of Stargate SG-1 , Samantha Carter attempts to defend her femininity by claiming that she played with dolls as a child. On further questioning, she reveals that the dolls were
12040-448: The Martian interior. The 2021 Perseverance rover carried the first extraplanetary aircraft, a helicopter named Ingenuity . NASA also launched missions to Mercury in 2004, with the MESSENGER probe demonstrating as the first use of a solar sail . NASA also launched probes to the outer Solar System starting in the 1960s. Pioneer 10 was the first probe to the outer planets, flying by Jupiter , while Pioneer 11 provided
12212-402: The Moon and going to Mars. Embracing this approach, NASA's Commercial Crew Program started by contracting cargo delivery to the International Space Station and flew its first operational contracted mission on SpaceX Crew-1 . This marked the first time since the retirement of the Space Shuttle that NASA was able to launch its own astronauts on an American spacecraft from the United States, ending
12384-479: The Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the 1960s and installed James E. Webb as NASA administrator to achieve this goal. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy openly declared this goal in his "Urgent National Needs" speech to the United States Congress, declaring: I believe this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on
12556-427: The Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. Kennedy gave his " We choose to go to the Moon " speech the next year, on September 12, 1962 at Rice University , where he addressed the nation hoping to reinforce public support for
12728-473: The Ohio Democratic Party chairman did not think it was likely they would see the same success in Ohio. LaRouche was known for his fringe theories, such as the queen of England being a drug dealer. Kindness spoke to his supporters and warned them against LaRouche candidates. He issued a statement telling voters to reject LaRouche candidates in both Republican and Democratic primaries. Glenn won
12900-706: The Russians be included. In 1993, the Clinton Administration announced that the Space Station Freedom would become the International Space Station in an agreement with the Russian Federation. This allowed the Russians to maintain their space program through an infusion of American currency to maintain their status as one of the two premier space programs. While the United States built and launched
13072-588: The Russians to fly to the International Space Station for four days, despite the opposition of NASA to the idea. Advocates of this new commercial approach for NASA included former astronaut Buzz Aldrin , who remarked that it would return NASA to its roots as a research and development agency, with commercial entities actually operating the space systems. Having corporations take over orbital operations would also allow NASA to focus all its efforts on deep space exploration and returning humans to
13244-422: The Solar System. Mars has long been a planet of intense fascination for NASA, being suspected of potentially having harbored life. Mariner 5 was the first NASA spacecraft to flyby Mars, followed by Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 . Mariner 9 was the first orbital mission to Mars. Launched in 1975, Viking program consisted of two landings on Mars in 1976. Follow-on missions would not be launched until 1996, with
13416-654: The Soviet Union launched pilot-cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya . During the late 1970s, Glenn reportedly supported Space Shuttle Mission Specialist Judith Resnik in her career. At 42, Glenn was the oldest member of the astronaut corps and would likely be close to 50 by the time the lunar landings took place. During Glenn's training, NASA psychologists determined that he was the astronaut best suited for public life. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy suggested to Glenn and his wife in December 1962 that he run for
13588-633: The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, NASA was forced to rely on Russian Soyuz launches for its astronauts and the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle accelerated the station's completion. In the 1980s, right after the first flight of the Space Shuttle, NASA started a joint program with the Department of Defense to develop the Rockwell X-30 National Aerospace Plane. NASA realized that
13760-418: The Space Shuttle allowed NASA to begin recruiting more non-military scientific and technical experts. A prime example is Sally Ride , who became the first American woman to fly in space on STS-7 . This new astronaut selection process also allowed NASA to accept exchange astronauts from U.S. allies and partners for the first time. The first Space Shuttle flight occurred in 1981, when the Columbia launched on
13932-514: The Space Shuttle and expand space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Constellation was intended to use a significant amount of former Space Shuttle equipment and return astronauts to the Moon. This program was canceled by the Obama Administration . Former astronauts Neil Armstrong , Gene Cernan , and Jim Lovell sent a letter to President Barack Obama to warn him that if the United States did not get new human spaceflight ability,
14104-554: The Space Shuttle began flying, selling it as an orbital laboratory, repair station, and a jumping off point for lunar and Mars missions. NASA found a strong advocate in President Ronald Reagan , who declared in a 1984 speech: America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight I am directing NASA to develop
14276-686: The Space Shuttle, while a massive technological accomplishment, would not be able to live up to all its promises. Designed to be a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane, the X-30 had both civil and military applications. With the end of the Cold War , the X-30 was canceled in 1992 before reaching flight status. Following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, President Bush started the Constellation program to smoothly replace
14448-483: The Space Shuttle. Due to technical challenges, the spacecraft was cancelled in 2001. Despite this, it was the first time a commercial space company directly expended a significant amount of its resources into spacecraft development. The advent of space tourism also forced NASA to challenge its assumption that only governments would have people in space. The first space tourist was Dennis Tito , an American investment manager and former aerospace engineer who contracted with
14620-507: The Space Station Freedom was controversial, with much of the debate centering on cost. Several redesigns to reduce cost were conducted in the early 1990s, stripping away much of its functions. Despite calls for Congress to terminate the program, it continued, in large part because by 1992 it had created 75,000 jobs across 39 states. By 1993, President Bill Clinton attempted to significantly reduce NASA's budget and directed costs be significantly reduced, aerospace industry jobs were not lost, and
14792-602: The U.S. risked become a second or third-rate space power. As early as the Reagan Administration, there had been calls for NASA to expand private sector involvement in space exploration rather than do it all in-house. In the 1990s, NASA and Lockheed Martin entered into an agreement to develop the Lockheed Martin X-33 demonstrator of the VentureStar spaceplane, which was intended to replace
14964-461: The U.S. space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science . It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury , Project Gemini , the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle . Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with
15136-587: The US's premier aeronautics agency, NACA formed the core of NASA's new structure by reassigning 8,000 employees and three major research laboratories. NASA also proceeded to absorb the Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard, the Army's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under Wernher von Braun . This left NASA firmly as the United States' civil space lead and
15308-542: The action figures of the Major Matt Mason toy line. In the first few moments of the motion picture The Wedding Planner , a Major Matt Mason action figure is seen dangling on his flight backpack delivering a toy wedding cake to Barbie and Ken dolls. On Dark Shadows , the popular gothic soap opera of the late 1960s and early 1970s, David Collins had the Space Station in his room at Collinwood. In
15480-529: The age of 36, he was now likely too old to continue to fly. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 , the first artificial satellite . This damaged American confidence in its technological superiority, creating a wave of anxiety known as the Sputnik crisis . In response, President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the Space Race . The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
15652-688: The army and enlisted as a U.S. Navy aviation cadet in March 1942. Glenn attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City for pre-flight training and made his first solo flight in a military aircraft at Naval Air Station Olathe in Kansas , where he went for primary training. During advanced training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas , he accepted an offer to transfer to the U.S. Marine Corps . Having completed his flight training in March 1943, Glenn
15824-406: The astronauts. The character was originally depicted as a mysterious and possibly hostile entity, but later appeared to be the astronauts' ally against other, more hostile extraterrestrials. The figure had glowing red eyes, a glowing breastplate, and a laser pistol permanently attached to his hand. Transparent purple plastic attachments came with the figure that could alter the size and appearance of
15996-417: The delegates. Walter Cronkite described it as "dull", and other delegates complained that he was hard to hear. Carter called Glenn to inform him the nomination was going to another candidate and later nominated the veteran politician Walter Mondale . It was also reported that Carter's wife thought Annie Glenn, who had a stutter, would hurt the campaign. In his first reelection campaign, Glenn ran opposed in
16168-492: The early run of the accessories appealing was that the designs were based directly on concepts promoted and demonstrated by NASA and the various contractors involved in America 's " Race to the Moon " in the 1960s. The "Moon Suit" and the "Space Station", as well as the "Jet Pack" were actually seen as concept drawings in such magazines as Look and Life . The laser weapons were copied from designs of science fiction shows of
16340-425: The elbow, knee, and hip joints, giving the toy a limited life span as a result. The space suit paint adhered poorly to the body molding and often peeled off to reveal the black molding beneath. Each character body was painted in a different color and had a separately modeled head. Matt Mason had a dark brown crew cut and a white space suit, Sgt. Storm had blond hair and a red suit; civilian astronaut Doug Davis had
16512-495: The eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job". He defeated Metzenbaum 54 to 46 percent before defeating Ralph Perk (the Republican mayor of Cleveland ) in the general election, beginning a Senate career which would continue until 1999. After Jimmy Carter became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in the 1976 election , Glenn was reported to be in consideration to be Carter's running mate because he
16684-550: The figure was either intended for a different toy series, or may have been purchased from another company's toy line - probably a Japanese company. The tooling for the Captain Lazer body was later used to make large-size Battlestar Galactica action figures, including Colonial Warrior and the Cylon Centurion . Callisto was a Jovian with a transparent green head, the same size as the astronauts, while Scorpio
16856-490: The first supersonic transcontinental flight. Disliking his Bureau of Aeronautics desk job, he devised the flight as both a way to keep flying and publicly demonstrate the F8U Crusader. At that time, the transcontinental speed record, held by an Air Force Republic F-84 Thunderjet , was 3 hours 45 minutes and Glenn calculated that the F8U Crusader could do it faster. Because its 586-mile-per-hour (943 km/h) air speed
17028-420: The first close up view of the planet. Both probes became the first objects to leave the Solar System. The Voyager program launched in 1977, conducting flybys of Jupiter and Saturn , Neptune , and Uranus on a trajectory to leave the Solar System. The Galileo spacecraft, deployed from the Space Shuttle flight STS-34 , was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, discovering evidence of subsurface oceans on
17200-570: The first continuous, panoramic photograph of the United States. Glenn was one of the Mercury Seven military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. He was the third American, and the fifth person, to be in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962,
17372-544: The first continuous, transcontinental panoramic photograph of the United States. He received his fifth Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 1, 1959. The cross-country flight made Glenn a minor celebrity. A profile appeared in The New York Times, and he appeared on the television show Name That Tune . Glenn now had nearly 9,000 hours of flying time, including about 3,000 hours in jets, but knew that at
17544-515: The first crew to make it habitable and operational. Skylab hosted nine missions and was decommissioned in 1974 and deorbited in 1979, two years prior to the first launch of the Space Shuttle and any possibility of boosting its orbit. In 1975, the Apollo–Soyuz mission was the first ever international spaceflight and a major diplomatic accomplishment between the Cold War rivals, which also marked
17716-402: The first humans to see the Earth as a globe in space, the first to witness an Earthrise , and the first to see and manually photograph the far side of the Moon. The first lunar landing was conducted by Apollo 11. Commanded by Neil Armstrong with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins , Apollo 11 was one of the most significant missions in NASA's history, marking the end of
17888-645: The garrison on Midway Atoll on February 21, then moved to the Marshall Islands in June 1944 and flew 57 combat missions in the area. He received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and ten Air Medals. At the end of his one-year tour of duty in February 1945, Glenn was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina , then to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. He
18060-434: The highest on all the tests, a member of the selection committee recalled how he had impressed everyone with his "strength of personality and his dedication". On April 6 Donlan called Glenn to offer him a position at Project Mercury, one of seven candidates chosen as astronauts. Glenn was pleased while Annie was supportive but wary of the danger; during his three years at Patuxent, 12 test pilots had died. The identities of
18232-451: The last flight of the Apollo capsule. Flown in 1975, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule. During the 1960s, NASA started its space science and interplanetary probe program. The Mariner program was its flagship program, launching probes to Venus , Mars , and Mercury in the 1960s. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was the lead NASA center for robotic interplanetary exploration, making significant discoveries about
18404-563: The less popular Federal Services Subcommittee, which was in charge of the U.S. Postal Service . Previous chairs of the Federal Services Subcommittee had lost elections in part because of negative campaigns associated with the poorly regarded mail service to the chairmen, but Glenn accepted the offer and became the chair of both subcommittees. One of his goals as a new senator was developing environmental policies. Glenn introduced bills on energy policy to try to counter
18576-401: The likely Republican candidate, in the general election was much less clear. In late February he was hospitalized for a concussion sustained in a fall against a bathtub while attempting to fix a mirror in a hotel room; an inner-ear injury from the accident left him unable to campaign. Both his wife and Scott Carpenter campaigned on his behalf during February and March, but doctors gave Glenn
18748-487: The lone Marine." The magnitude of the challenge ahead of them was made clear a few weeks later, on the night of May 18, 1959, when the seven astronauts gathered at Cape Canaveral to watch their first rocket launch, of an SM-65D Atlas , which was similar to the one that was to carry them into orbit. A few minutes after liftoff, it exploded spectacularly, lighting up the night sky. The astronauts were stunned. Shepard turned to Glenn and said: "Well, I'm glad they got that out of
18920-507: The majority of the International Space Station, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency all contributed components. Despite NASA's insistence that costs would be kept at a budget of $ 17.4, they kept rising and NASA had to transfer funds from other programs to keep the International Space Station solvent. Ultimately, the total cost of the station was $ 150 billion, with the United States paying for two-thirds.Following
19092-590: The midst of a Hall of Fame baseball career with the Boston Red Sox ) as his wingman . Williams later said about Glenn "Absolutely fearless. The best I ever saw. It was an honor to fly with him." Glenn also flew with future major general Ralph H. Spanjer . In June 1953, Glenn reported for duty with the USAF's 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and flew 27 combat missions in the F-86, a much faster aircraft than
19264-411: The minimum standards. Marine Corps pilots were mistakenly omitted at first; two were quickly found, including Glenn. The candidates had to be younger than 40, possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and be 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) or less. Only the height requirement was strictly enforced, owing to the size of the Project Mercury spacecraft. This was fortunate for Glenn, who barely met
19436-634: The moon of Enceladus , which could harbor life. Finally launched in 2006, the New Horizons mission was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and the Kuiper Belt . Beyond interplanetary probes, NASA has launched many space telescopes . Launched in the 1960s, the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory were NASA's first orbital telescopes, providing ultraviolet, gamma-ray, x-ray, and infrared observations. NASA launched
19608-556: The nation as an iconic figure", according to NASA administrator Charles Bolden , that Kennedy would not "risk putting him back in space again." Glenn's fame and political potential were noted by the Kennedys, and he became a friend of the Kennedy family . On February 23, 1962, President Kennedy gave him the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Friendship 7 flight. Upon receiving the award, Glenn said, "I would like to consider I
19780-517: The oldest person to enter Earth orbit, the only person to fly in both the Mercury and the Space Shuttle programs , and the first Member of Congress to visit space since Congressman Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in 1986. Glenn, both the oldest and the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven, died at the age of 95 on December 8, 2016. John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio,
19952-508: The other astronauts. Glenn was the backup pilot for Shepard and Grissom on the first two crewed Project Mercury flights, the sub-orbital missions Mercury-Redstone 3 and Mercury-Redstone 4 . Glenn was selected for Mercury-Atlas 6, NASA's first crewed orbital flight, with Carpenter as his backup. Putting a man in orbit would achieve one of Project Mercury's most important goals. Shepard and Grissom had named their spacecraft Freedom 7 and Liberty Bell 7 . The numeral 7 had originally been
20124-517: The pair built three more hotels. One of Glenn's business partners was Henri Landwirth , a Holocaust survivor who became his best friend. He remembered learning about Landwirth's background: "Henri doesn't talk about it much. It was years before he spoke about it with me and then only because of an accident. We were down in Florida during the space program. Everyone was wearing short-sleeved Ban-Lon shirts—everyone but Henri. Then one day I saw Henri at
20296-563: The pool and noticed the number on his arm . I told Henri that if it were me I'd wear that number like a medal with a spotlight on it." Glenn remained close to the Kennedy family, and campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign . In 1968, Glenn was in Kennedy's hotel suite when Kennedy heard he had won California. Glenn was supposed to go with him to celebrate but decided not to as there would be many people there. Kennedy went downstairs to make his victory speech and
20468-579: The position was granted, and he spent several days at Langley and a week in Johnsville for the testing. As one of the very few pilots to have done such testing, Glenn had become an expert on the subject. NASA asked military-service members to participate in planning the mockup of a spacecraft. Having participated in the research at Langley and Johnsville, he was sent to the McDonnell plant in St. Louis as
20640-458: The primary contest with 88% of the vote. With the primary complete, Glenn began his campaign against Kindness. Glenn believed he and other Democrats were the targets of a negative campaign thought up by the GOP strategists in Washington. Kindness focused on Glenn's campaign debts for his failed presidential run and the fact he stopped payments on it while campaigning for the Senate seat. After winning
20812-424: The primary for the 1980 Senate election. His opponents, engineer Francis Hunstiger and ex-teacher Frances Waterman, were not well-known and poorly funded. His opponents spent only a few thousand dollars on the campaign, while Glenn spent $ 700,000. Reporters noted that for a race he was likely to win, Glenn was spending a lot of time and money on the campaign. His chief strategist responded to the remarks saying, "It's
20984-430: The primary, Metzenbaum contrasted his strong business background with Glenn's military and astronaut credentials and said that his opponent had "never held a payroll". Glenn's reply became known as the " Gold Star Mothers " speech. He told Metzenbaum to go to a veterans' hospital and "look those men with mangled bodies in the eyes and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to any Gold Star mother and you look her in
21156-460: The production number of Shepard's spacecraft, but had come to represent the Mercury 7. Glenn named his spacecraft, number 13, Friendship 7 , and had the name hand-painted on the side like the one on his F-86 had been. Glenn and Carpenter completed their training for the mission in January 1962, but postponement of the launch allowed them to continue rehearsing. Glenn spent 25 hours and 25 minutes in
21328-458: The promotion. President Johnson later decided to promote Glenn to full colonel status without taking someone else's slot. He retired as a colonel on January 1, 1965. Glenn was approached by RC Cola to join their public relations department, but Glenn declined it because he wanted to be involved with a business and not just the face of it. The company revised their offer and offered Glenn a vice president of corporate development position, as well as
21500-569: The race on March 16, 1984. After Mondale defeated him for the nomination, Glenn carried $ 3 million in campaign debt for over 20 years before receiving a reprieve from the Federal Election Commission . Glenn's Senate seat was challenged by Thomas Kindness . Kindness was unopposed in his primary, while Glenn faced Lyndon LaRouche supporter Don Scott. LaRouche supporters had been recently elected in Illinois, but
21672-442: The race with 62% of the vote, Glenn remarked, "We proved that in 1986, they couldn't kill Glenn with Kindness." In 1992, Republican Mike DeWine won the Republican primary and challenged Glenn in the Senate election. Glenn ran unopposed in the primary. DeWine's campaign focused on the need for change and for term limits for senators. This would be Glenn's fourth term as senator. DeWine also criticized Glenn's campaign debts, using
21844-625: The radiation levels on Mars were equal to those on the International Space Station , greatly increasing the possibility of Human exploration, and observed the key chemical ingredients for life to occur. In 2013, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution ( MAVEN ) mission observed the Martian upper atmosphere and space environment and in 2018, the Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy, and Heat Transport ( InSight ) studied
22016-409: The requirement that astronauts had to be test pilots effectively excluded them. NASA dropped this requirement in 1965, but did not select any women as astronauts until 1978, when six women were selected, none as pilots. In June 1963, the Soviet Union launched a female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova , into orbit. After Tereshkova, no women of any nationality flew in space again until August 1982, when
22188-449: The requirements, as he was near the age cutoff and lacked a science-based degree, but had taken more classes since leaving college than needed for graduation. Glenn was otherwise so outstanding a candidate that Colonel Jake Dill, his commanding officer at test pilot school, visited NASA headquarters to insist that Glenn would be the perfect astronaut. For an interview with Charles Donlan, associate director of Project Mercury, Glenn brought
22360-405: The results from the centrifuge to show that he had done well on a test that perhaps no other candidate had taken. Donlan also noticed that Glenn stayed late at night to study schematics of the Mercury spacecraft. He was among the 32 of the first 69 candidates that passed the first step of the evaluation and were interested in continuing, sufficient for the astronaut corps NASA wanted. On February 27
22532-438: The retrorocket pack in place might help keep the loose heat shield in place. They relayed these instructions to Glenn, but did not tell him the heat shield was possibly loose; although confused at this order, he complied. The retrorocket pack broke up into large chunks of flaming debris that flew past the window of his capsule during re-entry; Glenn thought this might have been the heat shield. He told an interviewer, "Fortunately it
22704-507: The satellites were repaired and relaunched. Despite ushering in a new era of spaceflight, where NASA was contracting launch services to commercial companies, the Space Shuttle was criticized for not being as reusable and cost-effective as advertised. In 1986, Challenger disaster on the STS-51L mission resulted in the loss of the spacecraft and all seven astronauts on launch, grounding the entire space shuttle fleet for 36 months and forced
22876-725: The separation of dark and regular matter during galactic collisions. Finally, the Spitzer Space Telescope is an infrared telescope launched in 2003 from a Delta II rocket. It is in a trailing orbit around the Sun, following the Earth and discovered the existence of brown dwarf stars . Other telescopes, such as the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe , provided evidence to support
23048-510: The setback caused by the Apollo 1 fire, which killed three astronauts, the program proceeded. Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon . The crew orbited the Moon ten times on December 24 and 25, 1968, and then traveled safely back to Earth . The three Apollo 8 astronauts— Frank Borman , James Lovell , and William Anders —were
23220-423: The seven were announced at a press conference at Dolley Madison House in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 1959: Scott Carpenter , Gordon Cooper , Glenn, Gus Grissom , Wally Schirra , Alan Shepard , and Deke Slayton . In The Right Stuff , Tom Wolfe wrote that Glenn "came out of it as tops among seven very fair-haired boys. He had the hottest record as a pilot, he was the most quotable, the most photogenic, and
23392-546: The son of John Herschel Glenn Sr. (1895–1966), who worked for a plumbing firm, and Clara Teresa Glenn ( née Sproat ; 1897–1971), a teacher. His parents had married shortly before John Sr., a member of the American Expeditionary Force , left for the Western Front during World War I . The family moved to New Concord, Ohio , soon after his birth, and his father started his own business,
23564-549: The space shuttle be retired. In 2006, the Space Shuttle returned to flight, conducting several mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope , but was retired following the STS-135 resupply mission to the International Space Station in 2011. NASA never gave up on the idea of a space station after Skylab's reentry in 1979. The agency began lobbying politicians to support building a larger space station as soon as
23736-481: The space station spelled an end to the program. In 2003, a second space shuttle was destroyed when the Columbia was destroyed upon reentry during the STS-107 mission, resulting in the loss of the spacecraft and all seven astronauts. This accident marked the beginning of the retiring of the Space Shuttle program, with President George W. Bush directing that upon the completion of the International Space Station,
23908-436: The spacecraft performing hangar and altitude tests, and 59 hours and 45 minutes in the simulator. He flew 70 simulated missions and reacted to 189 simulated system failures. After a long series of delays, Friendship 7 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 20, 1962. During the countdown, there were eleven delays due to equipment malfunctions and improvements and the weather. During Glenn's first orbit,
24080-416: The spaceflight program: to provide pilot input in design. The astronauts divided the various tasks between them. Glenn's specialization was cockpit layout design and control functioning for the Mercury and early Apollo programs . He pressed the other astronauts to set a moral example, living up to the squeaky-clean image of them that had been portrayed by Life magazine , a position that was not popular with
24252-660: The squadron's commander, Major J. P. Haines, who suggested that he could put in for a transfer. This was approved, and Glenn was posted to VMO-155 on July 2, 1943, two days before the squadron moved to Marine Corps Air Station El Centro in California. The Wildcat was obsolete by this time, and VMO-155 re-equipped with the F4U Corsair in September 1943. He was promoted to first lieutenant in October 1943, and shipped out to Hawaii in January 1944. VMO-155 became part of
24424-484: The time. There was also a Big Little Book , Moon Mission written by George S Elrick and illustrated by Dan Spiegle published in 1968 that had the astronaut and his friends confront both giant rabbits and huge burrowing worms on the Moon. Mattel dropped the line in the mid 1970s as interest in the space program declined. The series is still fondly remembered, and collectors may pay top dollar for figures and accessories in mint condition. A mint-condition figure of
24596-540: The traditional campaigning in early caucuses and primaries and focus on building campaign offices nationwide. He opened offices in 43 states by January 1984. Glenn's campaign spent a significant amount of money on television advertising in Iowa, and Glenn chose not to attend an Iowan debate on farm issues. He finished fifth in the Iowa caucus and went on to lose New Hampshire. Glenn's campaign continued into Super Tuesday , and he lost there as well. He announced his withdrawal from
24768-402: The ultimate test not only of their machines but of their own personal determination and flying skills. I was no exception." He hoped to become the second Marine jet flying ace after John F. Bolt . Glenn's USAF squadron mates painted "MiG Mad Marine" on his aircraft when he complained about there not being any MiGs to shoot at. He shot down his first MiG in a dogfight on July 12, 1953, downed
24940-579: The use of fuel cells instead of batteries, and conducted the first American spacewalks and rendezvous operations . The Ranger Program was started in the 1950s as a response to Soviet lunar exploration, however most missions ended in failure. The Lunar Orbiter program had greater success, mapping the surface in preparation for Apollo landings and measured Selenography , conducted meteoroid detection, and measured radiation levels. The Surveyor program conducted uncrewed lunar landings and takeoffs, as well as taking surface and regolith observations. Despite
25112-475: The various projects, mission architectures and associated timelines relevant to lunar and Mars exploration and science. John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator , astronaut , businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA , he served from 1974 to 1999 as
25284-566: The varsity basketball and tennis teams and was involved with Hi-Y, a junior branch of the YMCA . After graduating in 1939, Glenn entered Muskingum College (now Muskingum University), where he studied chemistry , joined the Stag Club fraternity, and played on the football team. Annie majored in music with minors in secretarial studies and physical education and competed on the swimming and volleyball teams, graduating in 1942. Glenn earned
25456-487: The way he does things. He takes nothing for granted." Glenn won the primary by a landslide, with 934,230 of the 1.09 million votes. Jim Betts , who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, challenged Glenn for his seat. Betts publicly stated that Glenn's policies were part of the reason for inflation increases and a lower standard of living. Betts' campaign also attacked Glenn's voting record, saying that he often voted for spending increases. Glenn's campaign's response
25628-519: The way our social order is organized, really. It is just a fact. The men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes and come back and help design and build and test them. The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order. In May 1965, after he left NASA, Glenn was quoted in the Miami Herald as saying NASA "offer a serious chance for space women" as scientist astronauts. NASA had no official policy prohibiting women, but
25800-732: The way." Glenn remained an officer in the Marine Corps after his selection, and was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia . The task force moved to Houston , Texas, in 1962, and became part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center . A portion of the astronauts' training was in the classroom, where they learned space science. The group also received hands-on training, which included scuba diving and work in simulators. Astronauts secured an additional role in
25972-462: The weapon. The visual design included Caucasian flesh tones with dark brown hair styled to resemble the Vulcan hairstyles from Star Trek . The figure's "costume" was dark blue metalflake with silver accessories and trim. Although the head, arms and legs could rotate, it was not as poseable as the astronaut figures, and was made out of hard plastic. Due to these design differences it is possible that
26144-461: Was Venus , sharing many similar characteristics to Earth. First visited by American Mariner 2 spacecraft, Venus was observed to be a hot and inhospitable planet. Follow-on missions included the Pioneer Venus project in the 1970s and Magellan , which performed radar mapping of Venus' surface in the 1980s and 1990s. Future missions were flybys of Venus, on their way to other destinations in
26316-490: Was a battery-powered, purple-and pink-colored, insect -like alien with a glowing head. Another insect -like alien called Or , who would have been packaged with an "Orbitor" flying vehicle, did not make it beyond the prototype stage. Also in the toy-line were a three-story " space station " (actually a Moon base ), various lunar surface and flying vehicles, mostly battery-powered, and assorted accessories, variously powered by springs, pneumatics, strings, or batteries. What made
26488-482: Was a figurehead for this whole big, tremendous effort, and I am very proud of the medal I have on my lapel." Glenn also received his sixth Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. He was among the first group of astronauts to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. The award was presented to him by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. After his 1962 spaceflight, NASA proposed giving Glenn
26660-434: Was a joint NASA–U.S. Air Force program, with the hypersonic test aircraft becoming the first non-dedicated spacecraft to cross from the atmosphere to outer space. The X-15 also served as a testbed for Apollo program technologies, as well as ramjet and scramjet propulsion. Escalations in the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union prompted President John F. Kennedy to charge NASA with landing an American on
26832-567: Was a senator in a pivotal state and for his fame and straightforwardness. Some thought he was too much like Carter, partially because they both had military backgrounds, and he did not have enough experience to become president. Barbara Jordan was the first keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Her speech electrified the crowd and was filled with applause and standing ovations. Glenn's keynote address immediately followed Jordan's, and he failed to impress
27004-683: Was able to previously accomplish. NASA launched its first commercial satellites on the STS-5 mission and in 1984, the STS-41-C mission conducted the world's first on-orbit satellite servicing mission when the Challenger captured and repaired the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission satellite. It also had the capability to return malfunctioning satellite to Earth, like it did with the Palapa B2 and Westar 6 satellites. Once returned to Earth,
27176-415: Was also a concern with sharing sensitive space technologies with the Europeans, which had the potential to dilute America's technical lead. Ultimately, an international agreement to develop the Space Station Freedom program would be signed with thirteen countries in 1985, including the European Space Agency member states, Canada , and Japan . Despite its status as the first international space program,
27348-433: Was appointed attorney general. Both Glenn and Metzenbaum sought the vacated seat, which was to be filled by Governor John Gilligan. Gilligan was planning on a presidential or vice-presidential run in the near future, and offered Glenn the lieutenant governor position, with the thought that Glenn would ascend to governor when Gilligan was elected to a higher position. The Ohio Democratic party backed this solution to avoid what
27520-413: Was asked to send a test pilot to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to make runs on a spaceflight simulator, as part of research by the newly formed NASA into re-entry vehicle shapes. The pilot would also be sent to the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania , and would be subjected to high G-forces in a centrifuge for comparison with data collected in the simulator. His request for
27692-406: Was assassinated . Glenn and Annie went with Kennedy to the hospital, and the next morning took Kennedy's children home to Virginia. Glenn was later a pallbearer at the funeral in New York. In 1970, Young did not seek reelection and the seat was open. Businessman Howard Metzenbaum , Young's former campaign manager, was backed by the Ohio Democratic party and major labor unions, which provided him
27864-420: Was based at Nanyuan Field near Beijing, in December 1946, and flew patrol missions until VMF-218 was transferred to Guam in March 1947. In December 1948, Glenn was re-posted to NAS Corpus Christi as a student at the Naval School of All-Weather Flight before becoming a flight instructor . In July 1951, he traveled to the Amphibious Warfare School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia for
28036-404: Was commissioned as a second lieutenant . Glenn married Annie in a Presbyterian ceremony at College Drive Church in New Concord on April 6, 1943. After advanced training at Camp Kearny , California, he was assigned to Marine Squadron VMJ-353 , which flew R4D transport planes from there. The fighter squadron VMO-155 was also at Camp Kearny flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat . Glenn approached
28208-514: Was established on October 1, 1958, as a civilian agency to develop space technology. One of its first initiatives was announced on December 17, 1958. This was Project Mercury , which aimed to launch a man into Earth orbit , return him safely to the Earth, and evaluate his capabilities in space. His Bureau of Aeronautics job gave Glenn access to new spaceflight news, such as the X-15 rocket plane. While on duty at Patuxent and in Washington, Glenn read everything he could find about space. His office
28380-415: Was expected to be a divisive primary battle between Metzenbaum and Glenn. He declined, denouncing their attempts as "bossism" and "blackmail". Glenn's counteroffer suggested that Gilligan fill the position with someone other than Metzenbaum or Glenn so neither would have an advantage going into the 1974 election. Metzenbaum's campaign agreed to back Gilligan in his governor re-election campaign, and Metzenbaum
28552-409: Was faster than that of a .45 caliber bullet , Glenn called the flight Project Bullet . He flew an F8U Crusader 2,445 miles (3,935 km) from Los Alamitos, California , to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.3 seconds, averaging supersonic speed despite three in-flight refuelings when speeds dropped below 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). His on-board camera took
28724-442: Was launched in 1990 on STS-31 from the Discovery and could view galaxies 15 billion light years away. A major defect in the telescope's mirror could have crippled the program, had NASA not used computer enhancement to compensate for the imperfection and launched five Space Shuttle servicing flights to replace the damaged components. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was launched from the Atlantis on STS-37 in 1991, discovering
28896-432: Was promoted to captain in July 1945 and ordered back to Cherry Point. There, he joined VMF-913, another Corsair squadron, and learned that he had qualified for a regular commission. In March 1946, he was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in southern California. He volunteered for service with the occupation in North China, believing it would be a short tour. He joined VMF-218 (another Corsair squadron), which
29068-424: Was still a Marine and had plenty of unused leave time, so he elected to use it while he waited for his retirement papers to go through. To avoid partisanship, NASA quickly closed Glenn's agency office. The New York Times reported that while many Ohioans were skeptical of Glenn's qualifications for the Senate, he could defeat Young in the Democratic primary; whether he could defeat Representative Robert Taft Jr. ,
29240-400: Was subsequently appointed in January 1974 to the vacated seat. At the end of Saxbe's term, Glenn challenged Metzenbaum in the primary for the Ohio Senate seat. Glenn's campaign changed their strategy after the 1970 election. In 1970, Glenn won most of the counties in Ohio but lost in those with larger populations. The campaign changed its focus, and worked primarily in the large counties. In
29412-419: Was that he has been a part of over 3,000 roll calls and "any one of them could be taken out of context". Glenn was projected to win the race easily, and won by the largest margin ever for an Ohio Senator, defeating Betts by over 40 percent. Glenn was unhappy with how divided the country was, and thought labels like conservative and liberal increased the divide. He considered himself a centrist. Glenn thought
29584-417: Was the rocket pack—or I wouldn't be answering these questions." After the flight, it was determined that the heat shield was not loose; the sensor was faulty. Friendship 7 safely splashed down 800 miles (1,290 km) southeast of Cape Canaveral after Glenn's 4-hour, 55-minute flight. He carried a note on the flight which read, "I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there will be
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