Neil Armstrong Memorial

Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell, left, former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, Sen. John Glenn, third from left, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, talk at a private memorial service celebrating the life of Neil Armstrong, Aug. 31, 2012, at the Camargo Club in Cincinnati. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, died Saturday, Aug. 25. He was 82.

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Fly Marines

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, along with former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States Sen. John Glenn and Gen. John R. Dailey, director of the National Air and Space Museum, right, look around the Fly Marines exhibit at the museum, Wednesday evening, June 27, 2012, in Washington. Bolden spoke later at the 2012 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History.

Photo Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers

John Glenn Given Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama presents former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn with a Medal of Freedom, Tuesday, May 29, 2012, during a ceremony at the White House in Washington.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA Statement on John Glenn Selection for Medal of Freedom

David Weaver

Headquarters, Washington                               

202-358-1600

david.s.weaver@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA has released the following statement by Administrator Charles Bolden about President Obama's announcement that astronaut John Glenn has been selected as a recipient of the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom:

"NASA sends its warmest congratulations to Sen. John Glenn on being named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Both of John's historic missions to space personified America's dreams and what we believed we could be. Just as President Obama has set us on a course to explore farther destinations in the solar system, John Glenn helped this nation forge a path to a brighter future with greater capabilities. We will build on his achievements to remain the world's space leader for generations to come."

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NASA Glenn Event to Celebrate John Glenn's Legacy on March 2

Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington     

Lori Rachul

NASA Glenn Research Center

Joe Mosbrook

Cleveland State University

CLEVELAND -- NASA's Glenn Research Center will host an event on March 2 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's orbital flight, the first by an American.

"Celebrating John Glenn's Legacy: 50 Years of Americans in Orbit" will be held at 1 p.m. EST at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., in Cleveland. More than 800 complimentary tickets are being distributed to the general public for this event through a lottery by Cleveland State University in partnership with NASA Glenn.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Glenn Director Ramon "Ray" Lugo will provide remarks during the one-hour program, which will include a welcome from Cleveland State University President Dr. Ronald Berkman. Space shuttle mission STS-95 pilot Steve Lindsey will pay tribute from the astronaut corps to Glenn. The program will culminate with a keynote address by the guest of honor Sen. John H. Glenn Jr.

Musical performances will be provided by the Cleveland Institute of Music, The Singing Angels and a soloist from Cleveland State University's music program. Doors open at noon and a special pre-program musical performance by the Cleveland Institute of Music will begin at 12:15 p.m., followed by a video tribute to Glenn.

"This is a great opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the achievements of John Glenn," Lugo said. "We are delighted to combine the 50th anniversary celebration with the anniversary of the center renaming. The inspiration that John Glenn gives to millions of people along with the pioneering spirit that lives in the hearts of all who work at the center will continue to keep our nation on the path of exploration and discovery."

On March 1, 1999, the Lewis Research Center was officially renamed the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in recognition of Glenn's contributions to science, space and the state of Ohio. As one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, Glenn trained in 1960 at Lewis in the Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility.

Others attending the tribute event include agency officials, Ohio astronauts, NASA employees and contractors, elected officials, several hundred high school students throughout northeast Ohio, and 100 Twitter followers selected to participate in a day-long Tweetup event that includes tours of NASA Glenn and its visitor center at the Great Lakes Science Center.

Following the program, Glenn, Bolden and Lugo will participate in a news media opportunity and question and answer session with the Tweetup participants. Reporters interested in covering the program and media availability should contact Lori Rachul at 216-433-8806 by noon on Thursday, March 1.

The program and media opportunity will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed online at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

An interactive online feature about the Mercury program and Glenn's flight is available at http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/glenn50.

For more information about NASA Glenn, visit http://www.grc.nasa.gov.

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50th Anniversary First American to Orbit Earth

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, seated right, and Sen. John Glenn address questions from the press during a briefing at Ohio State University as John Glenn's wife Annie Glenn, seated in red, looks on Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio. Today marks the 50th anniversary of Glenn's historic flight. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Revisiting Discovery

Sen. John Glenn and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana reminisce inside the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in the Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility-1. Glenn flew on Discovery as a mission specialist in 1998 and Cabana served as pilot for Discovery during a mission in 1990 and another in 1992.

Image Credit: NASA

John Glenn and JFK: An Historic Meeting

John Glenn, standing next to his Friendship 7 capsule in which he made his historic orbital flight, meets with President John F. Kennedy. Mrs. Glenn stands next to her husband. Earlier that day, President Kennedy presented the NASA Distinguished Service Award to Glenn.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA Events And Future Forum Mark 50 Years Of Americans In Orbit

Beth Dickey/David Steitz
Headquarters, Washington

Allard Beutel

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Lori Rachul

Glenn Research Center, Ohio

WASHINGTON -- Feb. 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the day in 1962 when U.S. Sen. John Glenn piloted his Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first U.S. orbital flight. In the next two weeks, NASA Television will broadcast a series of live events and special programming to commemorate 50 years of Americans in orbit, including the premiere of a new documentary and special interactive online features.

Here is a list of scheduled activities, all of which will be broadcast on NASA Television:

Thursday, Feb. 16

8-8:30 p.m.: Premiere of "Friendship 7: 50th Anniversary of Americans in Orbit" on NASA TV, a documentary on Glenn's historic mission featuring new interviews with Glenn and fellow Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Friday, Feb. 17

10-11 a.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter, the first two Americans to orbit Earth, will join NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana for a presentation about NASA's past, present and future. The event is open to employees at the space center in Florida.

3-3:30 p.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter will conduct a news conference in the Mercury Mission Control exhibit of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Saturday, Feb. 18

6:30 p.m. EST: Glenn and Carpenter will participate in "On the Shoulders of Giants," a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex honoring all who made NASA's Project Mercury possible. The program will include remarks from Cabana, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and astronaut Steve Robinson, who flew with Glenn on his second trip into orbit on space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission in 1998.

Monday, Feb. 20

1:30-3:15 p.m. EST: Glenn and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will speak live with the crew on board the International Space Station to kick off the agency's two-day Future Forum at Ohio State University in Columbus. Glenn also will participate in a panel session, "Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future," at the event.

Tuesday, Feb. 21

3-3:15 p.m. EST: Glenn will deliver closing remarks at the NASA Future Forum.

Friday, March 2

1-2 p.m. EST: Glenn will deliver the keynote address at "Celebrating John Glenn's Legacy: 50 Years of Americans in Orbit" a special event hosted by NASA's Glenn Research Center at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, 2000 Prospect Ave., in Cleveland. The tribute will be included in a Tweetup which the research center is hosting for its Twitter followers on the same day.

An interactive online feature about the Mercury program and Glenn's flight is available on the agency's Internet homepage at http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/glenn50/.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

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NASA Hosts Events to Celebrate 50 Years of Americans in Orbit

Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington

Tracy Young

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Andrea Farmer/John Kennedy

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In celebration of 50 years of Americans in orbit, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will host several events Feb. 17 and 18 that will air live on NASA Television.

On Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. EST, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana will host an employee presentation on NASA TV with the first two Americans to orbit Earth, Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn piloted his Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first U.S. orbital mission. Three months later, on May 24, Carpenter became the second American in orbit.

At 3 p.m., NASA TV will air a news conference with Glenn and Carpenter. The event will take place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in the Mercury Mission Control exhibit.

On Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m., Glenn and Carpenter will participate in a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex honoring all who made NASA's Project Mercury possible. The "On the Shoulders of Giants" program will include remarks from Cabana, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and astronaut Steve Robinson, who flew with Glenn on his second trip into orbit on shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission in 1998.

Media interested in covering the news conference and ceremony should contact Andrea Farmer at 321-449-4318 or John Kennedy at 321-449-4273 for access to the visitor complex.

Highlights from the Feb. 17 and 18 events will air on NASA TV's Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For information about the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, visit http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com.

For more information about NASA's Project Mercury, visit http://go.usa.gov/QIM.

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