[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 81 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 81

Recognizing the 45th anniversary of John Hershel Glenn, Jr.'s historic 
achievement in becoming the first United States astronaut to orbit the 
                                 Earth.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2007

   Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the 45th anniversary of John Hershel Glenn, Jr.'s historic 
achievement in becoming the first United States astronaut to orbit the 
                                 Earth.

Whereas John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, 
        and grew up in New Concord, a small college town a few miles from the 
        larger city of Zanesville, Ohio;
Whereas John Glenn attended New Concord High School and earned a Bachelor of 
        Science degree in engineering from Muskingum College, which also awarded 
        him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in engineering;
Whereas John Glenn enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program shortly after 
        the attack on Pearl Harbor and was commissioned in the United States 
        Marine Corps in 1943;
Whereas John Glenn served in combat in the South Pacific and also requested 
        combat duty during the Korean conflict;
Whereas John Glenn was a dedicated military officer, flying 149 missions during 
        2 wars;
Whereas John Glenn received many honors for his military service, among them the 
        Distinguished Flying Cross on 6 occasions, the Air Medal with 18 
        Clusters, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign 
        Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, the 
        National Defense Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal;
Whereas John Glenn served several years as a test pilot on Navy and Marine Corps 
        jet fighters and attack aircraft;
Whereas, as a test pilot, John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record in 1957 
        by completing the first flight to average supersonic speeds from Los 
        Angeles to New York;
Whereas John Glenn was a pioneer in the realm of space exploration and was 
        selected in 1959 as one of the original 7 astronauts in the United 
        States space program, entering the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration's (NASA) Project Mercury;
Whereas John Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group at Langley Research 
        Center in Hampton, Virginia;
Whereas, in 1962, the Space Task Group was moved to Houston, Texas, and became 
        part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center;
Whereas, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 
        ``Friendship 7'' spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the 
        United States;
Whereas, after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, John Glenn 
        completed a 3-orbit mission around the planet, reaching an approximate 
        maximum altitude of 162 statute miles and an approximate orbital 
        velocity of 17,500 miles per hour;
Whereas John Glenn landed Friendship 7 approximately 5 hours later, 800 miles 
        southeast of the Kennedy Space Center near Grand Turk Island;
Whereas, with that pioneering flight, John Glenn joined his colleagues Alan 
        Shepard and Virgil Grissom in realizing the dream of space exploration 
        and engaging the minds and imaginations of his and future generations in 
        the vast potential of space exploration;
Whereas, after retiring from the space program, John Glenn continued his public 
        service as a distinguished member of the Senate, in which he served for 
        24 years;
Whereas John Glenn has continued his public service through his work at the John 
        Glenn Institute at Ohio State University, which was established to 
        foster public involvement in the policy-making process, raise public 
        awareness about key policy issues, and encourage continuous improvement 
        in the management of public enterprise;
Whereas, in March 1999, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley appointed John 
        Glenn as Chair of the newly formed National Commission on Mathematics 
        and Science Teaching for the 21st Century;
Whereas the Commission played a pivotal role in improving the quality of 
        teaching in mathematics and science in the United States;
Whereas, in 1998, John Glenn returned to space after 36 years as a member of the 
        crew of the space shuttle Discovery, serving as a payload specialist and 
        as a subject for basic research on how weightlessness affects the body 
        of an older person; and
Whereas, combined with his previous missions, John Glenn logged over 218 hours 
        in space: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the 45th anniversary of John Hershel Glenn, 
        Jr.'s landmark mission piloting the first manned orbital 
        mission of the United States; and
            (2) recognizes the profound importance of John Glenn's 
        achievement as a catalyst to space exploration and scientific 
        advancement in the United States.
                                 <all>