The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

ting a transcontinental speed record in 1957 for the first
flight to average supersonic speeds from Los Angeles to
New York. In 1959 he was selected to be one of the first
seven astronauts in the American space program. Three
years later, on February 20, 1962, he made history aboard
Friendship 7 as the first American to orbit the Earth, completing
three orbits in a five-hour flight. He retired from
NASA in 1964 and from the Marine Corps in 1965, entering
politics and, in 1974, winning a seat in the Senate as a
representative of Ohio. To this position he was elected in
1992 for a record consecutive fourth term. Glenn made
history again when, at the age of 77, he flew as a payload
specialist on the crew of the Space Shuttle mission STS-
95. NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis
Field has been named in his honor. 41
Glenn Research Center (GRC)
NASA’s leading center for research and development of
aerospace propulsion systems in all flight regimes from
Glenn Research Center The main gate and hangar at Glenn Research Center. NASA
Glenn Research Center (GRC) 163
subsonic to hypersonic. GRC also carries out research in
fluid physics, combustion science, and some materials
science, especially with regard to microgravity applications.
Many Space Shuttle and International Space Station
(ISS) science missions have an experiment managed
by Glenn, and the Center has designed power and
propulsion systems for spaceflight in support of the ISS,
Mars Pathfinder, and Deep Space 1. In addition, Glenn
leads NASA’s Space Communications Program, including
the operation of the ACTS (Advanced Communications
Technology Satellite). Established in 1941 by
NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics),
the Center was named after NACA research director
George W. Lewis shortly after his death in 1948. Originally
known as the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory,
the facility was renamed the Lewis Research Center upon
becoming part of NASA when the agency was founded in
1958. It was renamed again the John H. Glenn Research
Center at Lewis Field in March 1999. Said NASA admin-