EDITORIAL : GODSPEED - AGAIN.SURE, a lot of hype and politics is associated with 77-year-old John Glenn's second excursion into space. But what's so wrong with that? How important is it, really, that Glenn got his ticket for a ride in the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. Discovery due to his influence as a member of the U.S. Senate? Glenn is, after all, the first American First American may refer to:
And it's not as if Glenn is just along for the ride as a VIP passenger, either. Glenn, who lobbied for the mission by saying he could play an important role in scientific studies of aging, will serve as a human guinea pig guinea pig (gĭn`ē), domesticated form of the cavy, Cavia porcellus, a South American rodent. It is unrelated to the pig; the name may refer to its shrill squeal. in experiments measuring the effect of weightlessness weightlessness, the absence of any observable effects of gravitation. This condition is experienced by an observer when he and his immediate surroundings are allowed to move freely in the local gravitational field. on the human body. So let's not Let's Not is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in Boston University Graduate Journal in December 1954. It was written for no payment as a favour to the journal, and later appeared in the collection Buy Jupiter. call this a publicity stunt A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the promoters or their causes. Publicity stunts can be professionally organised or set up by amateurs. Amateur stunts can be trivial or deathly serious. . Publicity stunts are hokum. The Discovery mission, which began Thursday with a flawless liftoff at Cape Canaveral, Fla., has legitimate scientific objectives. There's no denying, however, that this mission has captured the imagination of the American public. And for good reasons, too. Among older Americans, it has revived memories of Glenn's harrowing space flight in 1962, his triumphant ticker-tape welcome in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and how he helped restore the pride of a nation that had grown weary of being second to the Soviet Union in space. Younger Americans, too, are caught up in the drama of it all. We suspect that many of them are astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. that someone as old as Glenn is capable of taking on the kind of a job usually reserved for much younger people. That in turn makes the mission extra special for Americans of all ages. The Discovery mission also illustrates how far the space program has progressed since the days of Glenn's tiny Friendship 7 space vehicle. The space shuttle has made it possible for people in their middle years and beyond to orbit the Earth. Astronauts no longer must be super-fit test pilots. And the space shuttle is by no means the ultimate space vehicle. Lockheed Martin is developing the X-33 ``space plane,'' which is being designed to test technology for a reusable spaceship. Southern California has an important role in all of this. The X-33 and even more advanced space vehicles are being developed in the Antelope Valley. And Canoga Park, of course, is the home of Rocketdyne. Rocketdyne built the rocket engines used in every American manned space flight. ``Good luck, have a safe flight, and once again, Godspeed, John Glenn,'' said Glenn's fellow Mercury 7 astronaut, Scott Carpenter, in a taped message relayed to Discovery after its launch. Carpenter spoke those same words before Glenn's Friendship 7 blasted off more than 36 years ago. We are confident that all Americans share Carpenter's concern - not only for Glenn but for the entire crew of Discovery and all those who will follow them into space. CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO GLENN |
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