Dec 16 2016

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY M16-145 NASA Television to Air Programs Celebrating Space Pioneer John Glenn

NASA Television will air two programs live from Ohio celebrating the life of U.S. Marine, NASA astronaut and Ohio senator John Glenn today and Saturday, Dec. 17.

Visitors will pay their respects to Glenn from 4 to 7 p.m. EST Friday at the Ohio Statehouse rotunda, where he will lay in repose under the Ohio State seal, guarded for 24 hours by the U.S. Marine Corps Honor Guard.

Saturday, Ohio State University in Columbus will host John Glenn: Celebrating a Life of Service at 2 p.m., during which NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will pay tribute to Glenn’s early contributions to human spaceflight and enduring legacy. Both programs will air live on NASA TV and the agency’s website.

One of NASA's original seven Mercury astronauts, Glenn, who died Dec. 8, also served 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and four terms as a U.S. senator from Ohio. His flight on Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union. It also made Glenn an instant hero.