Beth Dickey/David Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov / david.steitz@nasa.gov
Allard Beutel
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-861-4769
allard.beutel@nasa.gov
Lori Rachul
Glenn Research Center, Ohio
216-433-8806
lori.j.rachul@nasa.gov
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-029
NASA EVENTS AND FUTURE FORUM MARK 50 YEARS OF AMERICANS IN ORBIT
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. 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
