posted 06-10-2004 02:50 PM               

Glenn will share personal recollections of the early years of manned spaceflight, in which the United States and Soviet Union raced each other to the moon. The former U. S. senator and Marine fighter pilot will also look back on his return to space in 1998 when, at the age of 77, he became the oldest person ever to experience zero gravity.

Has anybody heard anything more specific?

Thanks.

posted 06-11-2004 12:36 AM               

(1) last day of school
(2) Heard John Glenn speak at the NASM annex
(3) Recognized an astronaut looking for a seat at the lecture. . . and there was a vacant seat next to mine waiting for a one of my DC friends. . . so not only did I have a great chat but I also had the opportunity to introduce the astronaut to 5th grader two seats away. . . and since I did not see any of my DC friends (except Robert who was sitting elsewhere to get some good photos). . . guess who sat next to me?

What a day. What a day.

posted 06-11-2004 01:01 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MarylandSpace:
What a day. What a day.

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What a great story that was. Who was the astronaut?

I didn't see Robert, although I glanced around for him. Having never met him in person I'm not certain that I'd recognize him from his picture.

I attended the lecture with my oldest daughter and her boy friend.

A very special and touching moment was Glenn's introduction by his wife and life long companion Annie Glenn. The two had met as childhood playmates and are still very close to each other as indicated by her obvious admiration as she spoke of their long life together as children, during her husband's career as a wartime Marine pilot, and his astronaut and Senate careers. There was no detectable trace of her highly publicized stuttering problem that was dramatized in the movie "The Right Stuff."

Although publicity releases prior to the event said that Glenn would speak about "the early years of manned space flight," the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union to reach the moon, and his return to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1998, Glenn spoke primarily about President Bush's new space initiative announced in January. While graciously crediting the President with giving NASA a long ranged vision, Glenn noted his own opposition to specific segments of Bush's plan to return to the moon and venture on to Mars.

The main point of Glenn's criticism is with the plan to use the moon as a base from which to launch a mission to Mars. Although the moon's gravity is only 1/6 of Earth, the problem remains of lifting equipment from the earth to the moon to build a moon base and any manufacturing or mining equipment that is needed to prepare for a mission to the red planet.

Glenn also opposes the plan to reduce America's participation in the International Space Station (ISS). Glenn believes that a great opportunity for science would be squandered by turning our back on the station whose final cost might run as high as $US 60 billion, according to Glenn.

For a man turning 83 next month John Glenn has it pretty well together although there were several minor gaffs. He said two humans were currently orbiting the earth in the space shuttle. Of course he meant the ISS. He also corrected himself during a discussion of trans lunar trajectories when he suddenly mentioned the earth's atmosphere as a complicating factor during a lunar landing.

While explaining the inverse square law of gravitation in layman's terms Glenn said that Earth's far-reaching gravitational influence is what maintains its orbit around the sun, overlooking the greater gravitational pull of the sun itself. In all these mistakes were minor and incidental to the lecture in general.

The lecture was followed by an extensive question and answer period. The statesman Glenn refused to make personal political attacks, sticking to the facts even though several audience members lobbed softball questions hoping to tempt Glenn to attack the Bush administration. For example, somebody asked Glenn if he had noticed that in President's plan there was an oversight in which no manned missions for supporting the ISS would be launched for a period of four years, between the planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010 and the commencement of manned Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) flights in 2014. Glenn didn't take the bait and pointed out the obvious: the Russians fleet should still be available to support the international mission.

Another audience member asked Glenn what he thought about how space programs undergo drastic upheavals every time administrations change or when majority congressional power shifts between political parties. Glenn replied that in his view the biggest changes which occur are internal to NASA instead of a result of external political influence.

For the remainder of the Q&A Glenn took questions exclusively from children in the audience. He chuckled at the questions and answered each until each question from every kid in line had been answered.

I think my daughter was glad to have seen John Glenn. Especially on the same day that Ray Charles passed away. Several years ago I took her to hear Ray Charles. At the time she wasn't familiar with him but with his passing she realizes how lucky she was to have heard his music. And with John Glenn she has heard in person an American hero whose fame will not fade away any time soon.

posted 06-11-2004 01:45 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MarylandSpace:
What a day. What a day.

(1) last day of school
(2) Heard John Glenn speak at the NASM annex
(3) Recognized an astronaut looking for a seat at the lecture. . . and there was a vacant seat next to mine waiting for a one of my DC friends. . . so not only did I have a great chat but I also had the opportunity to introduce the astronaut to 5th grader two seats away. . . and since I did not see any of my DC friends (except Robert who was sitting elsewhere to get some good photos). . . guess who sat next to me?

What a day. What a day.

and Thump, thank you for the ticket.

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posted 06-14-2004 02:16 PM               

It was a thrill for me to recognize him and ask him if he needed a seat.

posted 06-16-2004 06:27 AM               

I was at a family gathering (my wife's side of the family) and I was telling my wife's aunt that I was sitting next to Tom Jones on Thursday (her eyes and ears perked up) . . . and then I added, "the astronaut."

"Oh," she responded.

I explained that "our" Tom Jones has a PhD, flew B-52's, and was a 4-time spacefarer.

"Oh," she responded.

posted 06-16-2004 11:46 AM            

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Originally posted by ejectr:
Did he look at you and say..."What's new pussycat?"

OOPS....that's the other Tom Jones.....

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Well... It's Not Unusual...