Astronaut John Glenn

[Pawelk198604]

I wonder why NASA not chosen John Glenn for any further space program (Gemini, Apollo), he flew on Space Shuttle, but i wonder why he not participated in Apollo Program?

[xrayfishx]

Can't blame you for not finding this from a long Wiki page. Searching for "Retired" helped me a lot.

Glenn resigned from NASA six weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy to run for office in his home state of Ohio. In 1965 he retired as a Colonel from the Marine Corps and entered the business world as an executive for Royal Crown Cola. In 1974, he was elected to the US Senate. Some accounts[citation needed] of Glenn's years at NASA suggest that Glenn was prevented from flying in Gemini or Apollo missions, either by President Kennedy, or by NASA management, on the grounds that the subsequent loss of a national hero of such stature would seriously harm or even end the manned space program (for similar reason, the Soviet program grounded Yuri Gagarin from further flights). Yet Glenn resigned from the NASA Astronaut Corps on January 30, 1964, well before even the first Gemini crew was assigned.

[Motokid600]

What were they portraying in The Right Stuff when Glenn saw the "fireflies" in orbit? What was that all about?

[sal_vager]

What were they portraying in The Right Stuff when Glenn saw the "fireflies" in orbit? What was that all about?

If I remember correctly he saw flashes and motes, possibly due to cosmic rays hitting his retinas

[xrayfishx]

If I remember correctly he saw flashes and motes, possibly due to cosmic rays hitting his retinas

According to the Wiki trip I just took (damn you, OP), the fireflies were pieces of ice that had formed on the exterior of the spacecraft.

[Pawelk198604]

Can't blame you for not finding this from a long Wiki page. Searching for "Retired" helped me a lot.

LOL

I know this site, but I wanted to know your opinion.

In my opinion, NASA acted with Glen a bit, not nicely too, This is what the Russians did with Gagarin also dis not nice.

I am sure that both Glenn and Gagarin were very pleased that their if governments allowed them to pursue a career, and not be treated them like some walking monuments

Edited July 7, 2014 by Pawelk198604