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In this February 1962 photo made available by NASA, astronaut John Glenn looks into a Celestial Training Device globe at the Aeromedical Laboratory at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth 55 years ago this week -- and NASA Glenn named for him carries forward that same curiosity and reach for the stars, writes NASA Glenn Director Janet L. Kavandi.
(NASA via AP)
Janet L. Kavandi is director of NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND -- On Monday, the nation celebrated a milestone that changed the course of American history and our relationship with the universe around us.
On Feb. 20, 1962 -- 55 years ago -- John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, piloting the tiny space capsule Friendship 7. His historic three orbits of our planet in a flight that lasted just under 5 hours opened the door for future human deep-space exploration missions and launched NASA on a trajectory that has since taken astronauts to the moon and, for the past 16 years, a continuous presence living and working on the International Space Station.
Today, with government agencies and commercial space companies delivering satellites to Earth's orbit, and regularly ferrying supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station, it may be hard to appreciate the significance of John Glenn's accomplishment five and a half decades ago. Until his historic flight, the United States was losing the "space race" with the Soviet Union. At that time, the Soviet Union was the only other government in the world to have a space program, and the only government to have put a man into orbit. With the success of Friendship 7, John Glenn leveled the playing field at a time when the United States and its citizens needed it most.
Unfortunately, John Glenn's passing on Dec. 8, 2016 at the age of 95 robbed us of the opportunity to celebrate Monday's anniversary with him. Nevertheless, across this country and among our international space partners, people paused to remember the astronaut who helped make possible all that has been achieved in the U.S. space program since that historic Friendship 7 flight.
At NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center, the nearly 3,300 people working at the center's two campuses in Cleveland and Sandusky were among those honoring John Glenn's historic accomplishment. Working at the NASA center named for the pioneering astronaut, we understand the enormous responsibility with which we are entrusted. We're carrying on his legacy of exploration and discovery each and every day, embracing his lifelong passion for pursuing scientific knowledge, while advancing the nation's technology in aeronautics and spaceflight programs.
John Glenn always pushed the envelope to discover what can be, and the engineers, researchers, and scientists at NASA Glenn are no different. We're developing technologies that will allow passenger aircraft to fly safer, faster, cleaner and more efficiently in the decades to come. For example, we're leading NASA's development of hybrid-electric technologies that will propel aircraft using electric motors.
Just as John Glenn did 55 years ago, NASA Glenn's staff looks to the stars, advancing technologies that will help our nation unlock the secrets of the universe. We're increasing the power and efficiency of future deep space exploration missions. NASA Glenn developed the use of solar electric propulsion in the 1960s, technology that has since propelled robotic missions, such as Dawn, to the asteroid belt's protoplanet, Ceres, in 2015. This technology is continually being improved and will support missions to Mars and other destinations throughout the solar system. The use of solar electric propulsion for cargo vehicles ferrying supplies and equipment to astronauts 140 million miles away on Mars is the most cost-effective and efficient way to sustain a future human presence on the "Red Planet."
NASA Glenn's ongoing microgravity research on the space station is helping us learn more about living and working in space. The station has been a critical habitat to discover invaluable information about how the human body reacts to long-duration space travel -- crucial data for astronauts who may be chosen for the Journey to Mars in the 2030s.
Exploration requires technology, and technology drives exploration. But so does curiosity. John Glenn once said, "I suppose the one quality in an astronaut more powerful than any other is curiosity. They have to get some place nobody's ever been."
Fifty-five years ago a heroic Marine Corps pilot and pioneering astronaut put his curiosity to the ultimate test, and set in motion humanity's most epic journey - the exploration of space.
Like John Glenn, the men and women at NASA Glenn, from our engineers, researchers and scientists to our support personnel, use curiosity and innovation to get to the places no one has ever been. These are essential elements of the American spirit, and it is the lasting legacy of John Glenn, a legacy we proudly take with us into the future.
Janet L. Kavandi is director of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and a former astronaut.
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