On Feb. 20, 1962, an Atlas rocket carried former U.S.
Senator John H. Glenn Jr. into space. Senator Glenn, tucked
inside his cramped Friendship 7 Mercury capsule, became the
first American to orbit the Earth. Today, American astronauts
and Russian cosmonauts have a permanent home in orbit aboard
the International Space Station.
To mark the 40th anniversary of his historic flight, Senator
Glenn and NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe will talk to the
Expedition Four crew, which is currently orbiting the Earth
aboard the space station. The conversation, scheduled for
about 4 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 20, will be carried live on
NASA Television.
This special in-flight event comes at the end of a six-and-a-
half hour spacewalk by Expedition Four crewmembers Carl Walz
and Dan Bursch. The two also plan to commemorate four decades
of human orbital space flight during their excursion outside
the space research facility, which is expected to begin about
7 a.m. EST and will be carried live on NASA TV
During the spacewalk, astronauts Walz and Bursch will
revalidate all systems of the Quest Airlock, the segment that
allows the space station crew to conduct spacewalks with both
RuD
