[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 377 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 377

 Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the historic achievement of John 
 Herschel Glenn, Jr., in becoming the first United States astronaut to 
                            orbit the Earth.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2012

Mr. Brown of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. 
 Rockefeller, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. 
Pryor, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reid, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Levin) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the historic achievement of John 
 Herschel Glenn, Jr., 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 
        to parents John and Clara Glenn;
Whereas John Glenn grew up in New Concord, Ohio with his childhood sweetheart 
        and future wife, Annie Castor, 150 miles east of Dayton, Ohio, the 
        birthplace of the Wright brothers, who first took humankind into flight;
Whereas John Glenn enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet program shortly after 
        the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was 
        commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps in 1943;
Whereas John Glenn received many honors for his military service, including 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, with the onset of the Cold War, the United States and the free world 
        feared the intentions of the Soviet Union in space;
Whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (referred to in this preamble as ``NASA'') to find the 
        most talented, patriotic, and selfless test pilots to participate in 
        Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight program in the United 
        States;
Whereas John Glenn and fellow candidates for NASA's Astronaut Corps underwent 
        pressure suit, acceleration, vibration, heat, loud noise, psychiatric, 
        personality, motivation, and aptitude tests at the Aeromedical 
        Laboratory at the Wright Air Development Center in Dayton, Ohio;
Whereas John Glenn, Malcolm S. Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. 
        ``Gus'' Grissom, Walter M. Shirra, Jr., Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Donald 
        K. Slayton were selected from among hundreds of other patriotic 
        candidates to be named the original ``Mercury Seven'' astronauts;
Whereas Project Mercury was charged with the unprecedented responsibility of 
        competing with the strides that the Soviet Union was making in space 
        exploration;
Whereas the United States public viewed John Glenn and the Mercury Seven 
        astronauts as men on the front line of the war not only for space 
        supremacy but also, in many minds, for the survival of the United 
        States;
Whereas John Glenn accurately captured the significance of the time when he 
        later wrote that ``the world was at the door of a new age, and we were 
        the people who had been chosen to take the first steps across the 
        threshold'';
Whereas the Project Mercury astronauts trained for their manned space flight 
        missions in the Multi-Axis Space Training Inertial Facility at NASA's 
        Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio;
Whereas Alan Shepard was chosen to pilot the first manned Project Mercury 
        mission on Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961, which proved that the United States 
        was capable of successfully launching a person into suborbital flight;
Whereas Virgil Grissom was chosen to pilot the second manned Project Mercury 
        mission on Liberty Bell 7 and became the second United States astronaut 
        to achieve suborbital flight on July 21, 1961;
Whereas the Soviet Union had successfully launched the spacecrafts Lunar 2 and 
        Lunar 3 in 1959 before successfully launching and returning to Earth 
        Major Yuri Gagarin, who completed a 108-minute single orbit around the 
        Earth in 1961;
Whereas John Glenn was selected from among the Project Mercury astronauts to 
        command the first United States capsule to orbit the Earth;
Whereas John Glenn, with the help of his children Dave and Lyn, named the first 
        United States space capsule to orbit the Earth  Friendship 7, re-
        emphasizing the peaceful intentions of the United States space 
        exploration program;
Whereas John Glenn trained vigorously, working through 70 simulated missions and 
        reacting to nearly 200 simulated system failures, to prepare to orbit 
        the Earth and successfully complete the first manned orbital mission for 
        the United States;
Whereas the work that John Glenn conducted on the cockpit layout, instrument 
        panel design, and spacecraft controls in the Mercury spacecraft enhanced 
        the design of Friendship 7 and the ability of an astronaut to control 
        Friendship 7, which proved useful during the mission;
Whereas, at 9:47 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 20, 1962, the Atlas 109D 
        rocket boosters ignited and John Glenn and Friendship 7 commenced 
        liftoff at NASA's Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida;
Whereas John Glenn, aboard Friendship 7, became the first United States 
        astronaut to orbit the Earth, orbiting 3 times and observing 3 sunrises, 
        3 sunsets, and the wonder of the universe in only 4 hours and 56 
        minutes;
Whereas, when John Glenn learned that the heat shield on Friendship 7 had 
        possibly become loose in orbit, compromising the successful completion 
        of the space mission, Glenn bravely managed the reentry procedures and 
        proved that a person can safely and successfully complete a NASA 
        mission;
Whereas John Glenn successfully completed reentry into Earth, splashing down in 
        the Atlantic Ocean at 2:43 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, east of Grand 
        Turk Island at 21 degrees, 25 minutes North latitude and 68 degrees, 36 
        minutes West longitude, and was recovered by the USS Noa;
Whereas, in the context of the Cold War, the success of the Friendship 7 flight 
        restored the standing of the United States as the leading country in the 
        race to space against the Soviet Union;
Whereas the completion of the inaugural orbit of the Earth by John Glenn 
        validated NASA's manned space flight mission and secured the future 
        missions of NASA's manned space capsules;
Whereas the people of the United States heralded John Glenn as the 
        personification of heroism and dignity in an age of uncertainty and 
        fear;
Whereas the press later described John Glenn as a man who embodied the noblest 
        human qualities;
Whereas President John F. Kennedy echoed the belief held by John Glenn that the 
        United States space program was not just a scientific journey but also a 
        source of inspiration and pride, saying, ``our leadership in science and 
        industry, our hopes for peace and security . . . require us to solve 
        these mysteries and to solve them for the good of all men'';
Whereas John Glenn is a patriot and space pioneer who encouraged the people of 
        the United States to rightfully view NASA as an embodiment of the 
        persistent quest of the people of the United States to expand their 
        knowledge and explore frontiers;
Whereas, in retirement, John and Annie Glenn continued their public service by 
        establishing the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State 
        University, living up to the words of John Glenn, who said, ``If there 
        is one thing I've learned in my years on this planet, it's that the 
        happiest and most fulfilled people I've known are those who devoted 
        themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own 
        self-interest.''; and
Whereas, although 50 years have passed, the historic orbit of John Glenn around 
        the Earth aboard Friendship 7 remains a source of pride and honor for 
        the people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the 50th anniversary of the landmark mission of 
        John Herschel Glenn, Jr., in piloting the first manned orbital 
        mission for the United States;
            (2) recognizes the profound importance of the achievement 
        of John Glenn as a catalyst for space exploration and 
        scientific advancement in the United States; and
            (3) honors the thousands of dedicated men and women of the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration who worked on 
        Project Mercury and ensured the success of the Friendship 7 
        Mercury mission.
                                 <all>