S62-01355 (1962) --- Project Mercury astronauts M. Scott Carpenter, prime pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) spaceflight, prepares to go through a water egress test. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra (back to camera), the backup MA-7 pilot is also present. Carpenter and Schirra are in the Mercury pressure suit, without the helmet. Behind them is an inflated life raft. Photo credit: NASA

High-Speed Research Station Director Walter C. Williams, NACA pilot A. Scott Crossfield, and Director of Flight Operations Joe Vensel in front of the Douglas D-558-2 after the first Mach 2 flight.

Walter Scott, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Maxar, is seen during a public meeting of NASA’s unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The UAP independent study team is a counsel of 16 community experts across diverse areas on matters relevant to potential methods of study for unidentified anomalous phenomena. NASA commissioned the nine-month study to examine UAP from a scientific perspective and create a roadmap for how to use data and the tools of science to move our understanding of UAP forward. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Five of the seven original astronauts are seen with Dr. von Braun inspecting the Mercury-Redstone hardware in the Fabrication Laboratory of Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) in 1959. Left to right: Astronauts Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, and Dr. von Braun.

The original seven astronauts for the Mercury Project pose in front of an Air Force Jet. From left to right: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, John H. Glenn, Virgil I. Gus Grissom, Walter M. Wally Schirra, Alan B. Shepard, and Donald K. Deke Slayton.

S66-18607 (18 March 1966) --- Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (center), Gemini-8 command pilot, and David R. Scott, pilot, arrive at Hickam Field, Hawaii on their way from Naha, Okinawa, to Cape Kennedy, Florida. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. is at extreme left. Photo credit: NASA

The group portrait of the original seven astronauts for the Mercury Project. NASA selected its first seven astronauts on April 27, 1959. Left to right at front: Walter M. Wally Schirra, Donald K. Deke Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and Scott Carpenter. Left to right at rear: Alan B. Shepard, Virgil I. Gus Grissom, and L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.

S63-18853 (1963) --- Group shot of the original Mercury astronauts taken at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), Houston, Texas. The astronauts are left-to-right: L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Alan B. Shepard Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, John H. Glenn Jr., Donald K. Slayton and M. Scott Carpenter. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- The Original Seven Mercury Astronauts pose beside an Air Force F-102 jet. Standing, left to right, are M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepherd Jr., and Donald K. 'Deke' Slayton.

MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER, HOUSTON, TX. -- FIRST ASTRONAUT TEAM -- Project Mercury Astronauts, whose selection was announced on April 9, 1959, only six months after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was formally established on Oct. 1, 1958, included: front row, left to right, Walter H. Schirra Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn Jr., and Scott Carpenter back row, Alan B. Shepard Jr., Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom, and L. Gordon Cooper.

S62-08774 (July 1960) --- These seven men, wearing spacesuits in this portrait, composed the first group of astronauts announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They were selected in April of 1959 for the Mercury Program. Front row, left to right, are Walter M. Schirra Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter. Back row, left to right, are Alan B. Shepard Jr., Virgil I. Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper Jr. Photo credit: NASA

S61-00246 (25 July 1961) --- Photo of the original Mercury astronauts with Col. John A. (Shorty) Powers seated around a table talking to the news media. From left to right are: L. Gordon Cooper, Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn Jr., Col. Powers, Alan B. Shepard Jr., M. Scott Carpenter and Walter M. Schirra Jr. Virgil I. Grissom is out of the frame. Photo credit: NASA

S61-02357 (8 May 1961) --- The original seven Mercury astronauts at the State Department Auditorium on May 8, 1961. The astronauts are (left to right) Donald K. Slayton, Walter M. Schirra, Jr., L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., M. Scott Carpenter, Virgil I. Grissom, John H. Glenn, Jr. and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Earlier President John F. Kennedy had presented astronaut Shepard with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (note it on his lapel) in the White House Rose Garden.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the KSC Visitor Complex, former astronaut Robert L. Crippen (standing right) congratulates former astronaut Sally K. Ride at her induction ceremony into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Also standing is former astronaut James A. Lovell. Seated on the dais, from left, are former astronauts Gordon Cooper, Scott Carpenter, Buzz Aldrin, Walter Cunningham, Edgar B. Mitchell, and Fred W. Haise, all previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Being inducted with Ride are Space Shuttle astronauts Daniel Brandenstein, Robert "Hoot" Gibson, and Story Musgrave. Conceived by six of the Mercury Program astronauts, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame opened in 1990 to provide a place where space travelers could be remembered for their participation and accomplishments in the U.S. space program. The four new inductees join 48 previously honored astronauts from the ranks of the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and Space Shuttle programs.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crowd looks on during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter signs a poster celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, left, and former Kennedy Space Center directors Jay Honeycutt, Bob Crippen, Forrest McCartney and Roy Bridges listen during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --A crowd looks on during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, from left, Mercury astronaut John Glenn, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- AWAITING ORDERS to proceed to the launching site for Project Mercury's second attempt to launch a man into space, Astronaut Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom relaxes in a contour chair in the Personal Equipment Room Hangar 'S,' Cape Canaveral, Fla. A parabolic plexiglas mirror on his chest reflects the faces of two fellow Mercury pilots: Walter M. Schirra (left) and M. Scott Carpenter. The mirror, which was not included in the May 5 Shepard flight, will be used to reflect the instrument panel, bringing it into view of the pilot observer camera. MR-4, known as Liberty Bell 7, has been rescheduled for Friday, July 21. (NASA Photo

S62-03709 (4 July 1962) --- The original seven Mercury astronauts, each wearing new cowboy hats and a badge in the shape of a star, are pictured on stage at the Sam Houston Coliseum. A large crowd was on hand to welcome them to Houston, Texas. Left to right are astronauts M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. Slayton. Sen. John Tower (R.-Texas) is seen in far right background. Photo credit: NASA

S66-24439 (16 March 1966) --- The Gemini-8 prime crew, along with several fellow astronauts, have a hearty breakfast of steak and eggs on the morning of the Gemini-8 launch. Seated clockwise around the table, starting at lower left, are Donald K. Slayton, Manned Spaceflight Center (MSC) Assistant Director for Flight Crew Operations; astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Gemini-8 command pilot; scientist-astronaut F. Curtis Michel; astronaut R. Walter Cunningham; astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. (face obscured), Chief, MSC Astronaut Office; astronaut David R. Scott, Gemini-8 pilot; and astronaut Roger B. Chaffee. Photo credit: NASA

S63-18765 (October 1963) --- These fourteen pilots have been assigned to begin training for astronaut positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Front row, from the left, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., William A. Anders, Charles A. Bassett II, Alan L. Bean, Eugene A. Cernan and Roger B. Chaffee. Back row, from the left, Michael Collins, Walter Cunningham, Donn F. Eisele, Theodore C. Freeman, Richard F. Gordon Jr., Russell L. Scweickart, David R. Scott and Clifton C. Williams Jr. Photo credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

S88-31375 (1960) --- Although more easily recognized in their spacesuits, these seven men are actually NASA astronauts participating in a U.S. Air Force survival school at Stead Air Force Base in Nevada. The original seven Mercury astronauts are, left to right, L. Gordon Cooper Jr.; M. Scott Carpenter; John H. Glenn Jr.; Alan B. Shepard Jr.; Virgil I. Grissom; Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Donald K. Slayton. Portions of their clothing have been fashioned from parachute material. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter listens to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts Scott Carpenter, left, and John Glenn sit in front of a capsule from the Mercury program on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The two astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, talks with astronaut John Glenn following a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, talks with astronaut John Glenn and his wife, Annie Glenn, before a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter and his wife, Patricia, pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Kennedy Space Center directors Jay Honeycutt, left, Roy Bridges and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden talk with astronaut John Glenn before a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012 celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S61-01250 (20 Jan. 1961) --- Photo of the Mercury astronauts standing beside a Convair 106-B aircraft. They are, left to right, M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Donald K. Slayton. EDITOR'S NOTE: Astronaut Gus Grissom died in the Apollo 1 -- Apollo/Saturn (AS-204) -- fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida on Jan. 27, 1967. Astronaut Deke Slayton died from complications of a brain tumor, in League City, Texas on June 13, 1993. Astronaut Shepard died after a lengthy illness in Monterey, California, on July 21, 1998. As of Jan. 1, 1977 none of the seven astronauts remained with the NASA Space Program. However, in October 1998, United States Senator Glenn (Democrat-Ohio) flew as payload specialist on the STS-95 mission. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, standing, speaks during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronaut John Glenn, left, talks with Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn poses for a photo in front of the Project Mercury monument at Launch Complex-14 LC-14 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During events at the Cape and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Glenn is marking the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

Mercury astronaut John Glenn and his wife, Annie, pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -Annie Glenn, left, astronaut John Glenn and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden take part in a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Kennedy Space Center directors Forrest McCartney and Roy Bridges join Annie Glenn, astronaut John Glenn and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Press release information, September 13, 1968: "FIRST ASTRONAUT TEAM: Project Mercury Astronauts, whose selection was announced on April 9, 1959, only six months after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was formally established on Oct. 1, 1958, Included: Front row, left to right, Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter; back row, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom and L. Gordon Cooper. (1962), *89-361 Also in B&W. This copy of original negative was edited without shadows in the background. Photo taken at NASA Langley Research Center by Life Magazine photographer and negative copied for other centers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronaut John Glenn signs a poster celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, shares a laugh with astronaut John Glenn before a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter sit in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mercury astronaut John Glenn and his wife, Annie, pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts, John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter, talk to Mercury Project workers and other guests in the Astronaut Encounter Theater at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The pair participated in 50th anniversary events at the launch site of Glenn's first orbital flight aboard NASA's Friendship 7 capsule, which launched Feb. 20, 1962, aboard an Atlas rocket. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Kennedy Space Center directors Forrest McCartney, left, and Roy Bridges, center, listen with Annie Glenn during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S63-01419 (1963) --- The first two groups of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The original seven Mercury astronauts, selected in April 1959, are seated left to right, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, M. Scott Carpenter, Walter M. Schirra Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Donald K. Slayton. The second group of NASA astronauts, named in September 1962 are, standing left to right, Edward H. White II, James A. McDivitt, John W. Young, Elliot M. See Jr., Charles Conrad Jr., Frank Borman, Neil A. Armstrong, Thomas P. Stafford and James A. Lovell Jr. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The international news media takes part in a question-and-answer session with Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter sits in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The astronaut, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, was taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Kennedy Space Center directors Jay Honeycutt, left, and Bob Crippen, right, talk during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts, John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter, talk to Mercury Project workers and other guests in the Astronaut Encounter Theater at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The pair participated in 50th anniversary events at the launch site of Glenn's first orbital flight aboard NASA's Friendship 7 capsule, which launched Feb. 20, 1962, aboard an Atlas rocket. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn poses for a photo in front of the Project Mercury monument at Launch Complex-14 LC-14 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During events at the Cape and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Glenn is marking the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Annie Glenn, center, speaks as former Kennedy Space Center director Roy Bridges, left, and astronaut John Glenn look on during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Ed Mango, program manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, left, talks with astronaut John Glenn, center and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden before a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -Annie Glenn and astronaut John Glenn listen during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, center, prepares to ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --John Zarella leads a standing ovation during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-95 astronaut Steve Robinson speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, left, prepares to ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn, left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana shake hands following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana makes remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, left, prepares to ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former Kennedy Space Center directors Forrest McCartney, from left, Bob Crippen, Jay Honeycutt and Roy Bridges stand with current Kennedy director Bob Cabana, Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-95 astronaut Steve Robinson speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn, left, prepares to ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn listens to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, center, talks with U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, left and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Zarella makes remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut John Glenn listens to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana makes remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. Looking on are U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, left, and event MC John Zarella. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronaut Steve Robinson of STS-95, left, Cal Fowler, Launch test director during Mercury, U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana listen to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, left, prepares to ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronaut John Glenn, left, talks with fellow Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter before they ride in the Corvette parade following the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn tours the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter sit in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The astronaut, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, was taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Hugh Harris, the former director of Public Affairs at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, talks to Mercury Project workers and other guests in the Astronaut Encounter Theater at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Harris is helping Mercury astronauts, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, mark the 50th anniversary of Glenn being the first American to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Bob Cabana talks to guests about the Mercury Project's Atlas rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building. At the space center in Florida, Cabana is helping John Glenn mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- U.S. Rep. Bill Posey listens to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn signs the wall of the clean room leading into space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Cal Fowler, Launch test director during Mercury, speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts Scott Carpenter, left, and John Glenn and astronaut Steve Robinson of STS-95 listen to remarks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter sit in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left and Scott Carpenter look around at the dismantled Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Glenn and Carpenter launched from the pad on Atlas rockets inside Mercury capsules in 1962. The two astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand beside the wheel of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson tour the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Cory Huston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Mercury astronauts, John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter, talk to Mercury Project workers and other guests in the Astronaut Encounter Theater at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The pair participated in 50th anniversary events at the launch site of Glenn's first orbital flight aboard NASA's Friendship 7 capsule, which launched Feb. 20, 1962, aboard an Atlas rocket. At right, is Jack King, who was chief of Kennedy's Public Information Office during Project Mercury. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lisa Malone, left, director of Public Affairs at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, talks with Mercury astronauts John Glenn, center, and Scott Carpenter in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett