[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 102 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 102
Commemorating and praising the Honorable John Glenn on the 50th
anniversary of his historic orbital space flight.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 16, 2012
Mr. Ryan of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Kaptur, Mr.
LaTourette, Mr. Latta, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Tiberi, Ms. Sutton, and Ms.
Fudge) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating and praising the Honorable John Glenn on the 50th
anniversary of his historic orbital space flight.
Whereas John Glenn's 1962 space flight aboard Friendship 7 was a pivotal moment
in United States history;
Whereas the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics launched Sputnik I on October 4,
1957, and the people of the United States were immediately alarmed that
the Nation was no longer the world's technological leader;
Whereas the United States determined that a presence in outer space was
critically important to its national security during the Cold War;
Whereas to meet this challenge the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA) was reorganized on October 1, 1958, into the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) to pioneer the future in space
exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research;
Whereas John Glenn of New Concord, Ohio, joined the United States Navy Reserve
as an aviation cadet following the bombing of Pearl Harbor;
Whereas John Glenn was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States
Marine Corps on March 31, 1943;
Whereas John Glenn flew 59 combat missions flying the FU-4 Corsair in the South
Pacific during World War II and was awarded two Distinguished Flying
Crosses;
Whereas John Glenn flew 63 combat missions in the F9F Panther and 27 combat
missions in the F-86 Sabre in the Korean War and received two
Distinguished Flying Crosses;
Whereas John Glenn was assigned as a test pilot at Test Pilot School at Naval
Air Station Patuxent River and on July 16, 1957, flew the first
transcontinental flight, Project Bullet, averaging speeds greater than
the speed of sound travelling 2,446 miles in 3 hours 23 minutes and 8.1
seconds from Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York,
in a F8U Crusader and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross;
Whereas NASA selected 7 United States Armed Forces test pilots, including Major
John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC, to volunteer and fly in its manned space
program, Project Mercury on April 9, 1959;
Whereas NASA conducted 20 unmanned launches of the Project Mercury space capsule
including some with monkeys and chimpanzees and conducting 2 suborbital
space flights in 1961 commanded by Commander Alan Shepard, USN, and
Captain Gus Grissom, USAF;
Whereas after numerous delays, John Glenn boarded his Mercury capsule named
Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962;
Whereas the world stopped as the Atlas rocket with 360,000 pounds of thrust
lifted Friendship 7 off the launch pad with the voice of fellow
astronaut Scott Carpenter at mission control wishing ``Godspeed John
Glenn'';
Whereas Glenn felt 6 times the force of gravity on lift off and then once in
space, we heard his voice crackling over the radio ``Zero-g and I feel
fine. Capsule is turning around. Oh, that view is tremendous!'';
Whereas great concern was raised about indications that the heat shield might
not be properly attached which would result in the fiery destruction of
the spacecraft and astronaut upon reentry;
Whereas with a successful splashdown, John Glenn had reached speeds of over
18,000 miles per hour, and in 4 hours 55 minutes and 23 seconds became
the first United States citizen to orbit the Earth, rocketing the Nation
back into the space race and taking a vital step on man's journey to the
moon;
Whereas John Glenn's public service career was far from over being elected
Ohio's United States Senator in 1974 and serving as the first Ohioan
popularly elected to 4 terms and serving an Ohio record of 24 years
consecutive years;
Whereas having announced his retirement from the Senate, NASA selected Glenn as
a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-95;
Whereas Glenn spent 9 days from October 29 until November 7, 1998, in space
undergoing various experiments to research possible links between the
human aging process and the negative symptoms experienced by astronauts
exposed for a lengthy period of time to the weightlessness of space and
at age 77 becoming the oldest United States citizen to travel into
space;
Whereas John Glenn is the recipient of numerous awards including 6 Distinguished
Flying Crosses, the Congressional Space of Medal of Honor, and the
Congressional Gold Medal;
Whereas John Glenn continues to inspire a new generation of leaders at the John
Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University; and
Whereas John Glenn and his childhood sweetheart, Anna Margaret Castor, Annie,
have celebrated 68 years of marriage together and are blessed with 2
children, John David Glenn and Carolyn Ann Glenn, and grandsons Daniel
and Zachary: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's
historic orbital space flight with Project Mercury aboard
Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962;
(2) honors and praises John Glenn on the occasion of this
anniversary and for his lifetime of service; and
(3) acknowledges and affirms that John Glenn, pilot,
astronaut, soldier, Senator, and statesman, has faithfully
served his State and Nation in war and peace and is truly and
will always remain a United States hero.
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