the entire reentry. >> as the world listens and stands still, cape control uses fly by for reentry. john glenn rides his craft through the curbing globe beneath. in science in the exactness, they select the ocean to receive the friendship 7. >> a real fire ball outside. >> the fiberglass surface of the heat shield is starting to melt and vaporize as the wake extremes back to block off communication. as the earth's atmosphere slows the capsule's descent.

>> friendship 7. it's out. >> coming down. snokels are open. >> and chutes are open. beautiful chute. chute looks good! we have gone to about 4.2 per second. the chute looks very good. >> hello, mercury recovery, this is friendship 7. do you read me in. >> friendship 7, be advised i have you visually. >> roger. what is the estimate on recovery time? >> estimate pick up at 2-0 minutes. >> friendship 7, ready for impact. almost down. here we go. >> friendship 7, hold in the

water. what is your condition? >> my condition is okay. what does the capsule look like? >> the capsule looks okay. >> home to earth comes the voyager. transported now to the aircraft carrier "randolph" in four hours and 56 minutes, john glenn has streaked through three days and three nights and over 81,000 miles. never a journey so far. never a traveler so welcomed by the world. so brief a journey in time, so far the way, so long the hours for those who wait. as annie glenn has waited.

as all the world has waited. to salute the glenns with vice president lyndon johnson. as the president of the united states arrives at cape canaveral, to be greeted with john and a cheers of thrilled l of proud americans, incemonies center, president john f. kennedy presents the distinguished service medal to john glenn. as annie and david glenn proudly share applause with the other astronauts and with the world. as john's parents learn firsthand about friendship 7, as does marine corps general david m. shoop and the president of the united states.

and this rainy day in washington is a happy day as the president and the astronaut arrive. to drive through rain-washed crowd-flooded streets for a reception as john and annie glenn with vice president lyndon johnson greet distinguished guests, including alan shepard. god speed, john glenn. god speed into the future. into the hearts of all americans. welcome to washington. welcome back to this planet. from the nation's capital to the towers of manhattan to the ticker tape parade of new york, cheering crowds roar a mighty welcome shared by all americans, by free people everywhere.

and across the land, the scene is the same and the heart is the same, as john glenn comes home to new concord, ohio. at the capitol, there is an introduction by the speaker of the house. john mccormick. >> members of the congress, it is a privilege and i deem a high honor to present to you a brave and courageous american. a hero in world war ii and in the korean conflict, who recently in the most notable manner, added glory and prestige to our country, the first united

states astronaut to have achieved orbital flight, lieutenant colonel john h. glenn, united states marine corps. [ applause ] >> mr. speaker, mr. president, members of the congress, i am only too aware of the tremendous honor that's being shown us at this joint meeting of the congress today. this has been a great experience for all of us on the program and for all americans, i guess, too. i'm certainly glad to see that pride in our country and its accomplishments are not a thing of the past. [ applause ]

i know i still get a real hard to define feeling when the flag goes by and i know all of you do, too. [ applause ] the launch itself was conducted openly and with the news media representatives from around the world in attendance. this is certainly in sharp contrast with similar programs conducted elsewhere in the world and elevates the peaceful intent of our program. today, i know i seem to be standing alone on this great platform. just as i seem to be alone in the cockpit of the friendship 7 spacecraft. but i'm not. they were with me then and with me now. thousands of americans and many hundreds of citizens of many countries around the world who contributed to this truly

international undertaking voluntaril voluntarily. we are all proud to have been privileged to be part of the effort. to represent our country as we have. as our knowledge of this universe in which we live increases, may god grant us the wisdom and guidance to use it wisely. thank you. [ applause ] >> and crown thy good with brotherhood to sea to shining sea. in the pattern of all of our free american traditions, john glenn's trail blazing into space has shown the way for human progress, for brotherhood around the world. his story speaks of people and places and industry, of the greatness that is america. it sings of the nation that strives constantly for peace. deriving all of the power toward

the preservation of freedom. in the majesty of greatness, this story is his story. it soars with the american spirit everywhere. across the vast-spread land in all of its towns and cities, on all its far-flung farms and ranches. deep in the forests and plains of winding roads and rivers, majestic mountains and lakes and sea-lashed shores, peop their eyes to the sky sending their hopes and prayers riding through space with john glenn in friendship 7. as all the world watched ands w

about the universe, finding an approach at last toward fulfillment in the john glenn story.

next, a ceremony honoring former astronaut, john glenn and neil armstrong and michael cal lynn collins. you will hear from speaker of the house and senator harry reid during this hour-long event which was held in the u.s. capitol rotunda. >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. >> ladies and gentlemen, good morning. >> the heavens declare the glory of god. the firm show of his handiwork.

this adventures have touched the firment. you think of the significance of the congressional gold medal. it has only been awarded to 100. of those in aviation and space first think of the wright brothers, charles lindberg, dr. robert goddard, the father of modern rocketry and now, today's honorees. i dare say in future years, we will be giving this same ceremony and gold medal to the first crew that will land on the

planet mars. ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive. as a matter of fact, it's a part of us. it's our character as the american people to be adventure you ares and explorers. and we won't ever give that dream up. indeed, in the honoring of these astronauts, we foretell the future, the greatness, the discovery, the expressing of ourselves as a people. pioneers, adventurers and explorers. ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the ranking member of commerce, the honorable kay bailey hutchison. >> we are honoring four grave, determined, resilient men. they and the astronauts who followed took enormous personal risks for our country to venture beyond earth's orbit. their missions into the unknown remind us of what can be achieved. as well as the dangers of not reaching for the stars. america urgently needs to continue our preimminence in manned exploration. from senator glenn's flight on friendship 7 to astronauts armstrong, collins and aldrin's lunar mission of apollo 11, to

our recent space shuttle program to the space station, we know that space exploration is a step-by-step process. it will require leadership to get a sustained commitment of resources and a clear sense of purpose over time. look at what space exploration has brought to america. the technology and products in space science, earth science, fundamental aeronautics search and education have spurred tens of billions of economic activity dollars and hundreds of thousands of productive jobs. the use of satellites that can guide a missile into a window from three miles away has drastically lowered collateral damage and saved countless lives

in conflicts and wars. we have all heard the words of president john kennedy when he spoke in 1962 at rice university. for the eyes of the world now look into space to the moon and to the planets beyond. and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest but by a banner of freedom and peace. the president set america on the course to achieve his vision. the men here today soared into a dark sky and described from afar what they saw. in the process, they contributed to a better world here on earth. they assured america would lead the way. we owe it to them and to our nation not to advocate nation's role as the leader in

space exploration. what they began, we are summoned to continue. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, the administrator of the aeronaut ics and space administration, charles boden jr. >> mr. speaker, mr. reid, mr. mcconnell, miss pelosi, members of congress and honored guests, as we embark upon a next chapter of human space exploration, we stand on the shoulders of the extraordinary men we recognize here today. those that had the privilege to fly in space follow the trail they forge. the confidence we can go further into the unknown and achieve great things as a people rests

on the achievements of these men. when 50 years ago this year president kennedy challenged the nation to reach the moon, to take longer strides toward a great new american enterprise, these men were the human face of these words. from mercury and gemini, their actions unfolded that the will of a nation for the greater achievement of human kind. we are challenged to reach for new heights and plan an ambitious mission to mars. as we called on the four individuals we honor today to carry out our early achievements in space, we now call on a new generation of explorers to go where we have never gone before. i want to honor those who

contributed to the incredible success of the mercury, gemini and apollo programs and that have followed and has yet to come. i also want to thank congress. our nation is a better place because of more than a half century of strong bipartisan support for nasa's work. five members of the most recent class of 2009 are with us today to pay tribute to the congressional gold medal honorees and build on their accomplishments to make similar lasting contributions to our nation's space program. this new group of astronauts stands on the shoulders of the giants we recognize and honor here today and they will redefine space exploration in the years to come and continue to honor the legacy of john glenn, neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and michael collins.

it's a lasting legacy, a legacy that transforms our modern world. the inspiration they provided to generations isn't something we can measure but we can feel in our hearts. as a nation, we would not be the same without them and their bravery. their sense of duty and dedication to public service. and their great skill at thinking on their feet. they changed the course of history. and they helped our nation to achieve the bigger things to which our greater nature aspires. we owe them our gratitude. on behalf of nasa and all astronauts past and present, i congratulate and thank each of you, john, neil, buzz and mike, our congressional gold medal

recipients today. >> ladies and gentlemen, the singer-songwriter nora jones will now sing america the beautiful. ♪ oh beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ for purple mountains' majesty above the fruited plain ♪ ♪ america america ♪ god shed his grace on thee ♪ and crown thy good with

brotherhood ♪ ♪ from sea to shining sea ♪ o beautiful for amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ for purple mountains' majesty above the fruited plain ♪ ♪ america america ♪ god shed his grace ♪ earth and air and music called at sea ♪

as earth and above and music ♪ ♪ at sea [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi. >> good morning. today's ceremony is a celebration of the imagination and creativity. it is a tribute to america's leadership, to our legacy of exploration, our belief in discovery, our pursuit of scientific excellence, and technological achievement.

today we honor four courageous americans who represented and do still the highest hopes of a generation who inspired our nation to new heights of greatness and knowledge. who ignited the fires of evolution and rekindle the flames of scientific progress. we honor four men who embody the optimism, the energy, the spirit of the new frontier. as president john f. kennedy said more than a half century ago, the new frontier is not a set of promises. it is a set of challenges. and these astronauts not only accepted those challenges, they challenged future generations to explore new horizons, to apply our skills, our effort, our determination to any obstacles before us.

when president kennedy announced his determination to chart a new course into space, all americans and those of you who -- many of you may not have been born then, but for many of us learned a new word, astronaut, sailors to the stars. a sailor to the stars. in the past age of discovery, the sailors were guided by the stars. and the new age of discovery, the new frontier, these astronauts reached for the stars. senator john glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. he paved the way for not more missions into space, but for an expanded commitment to science and technology. and he acted upon that commitment with his leadership and the united states senate

where he brought honor to the congress and as he and the other recipients of the award today bring honor to this medal. michael collins, piloted the command module colombia as part of apollo 11. on the 40th anniversary of that achievement, he recalled how he peered out the ship's windows at the surface of the moon and saw the potential for students interested in science, math, and engineering. as neil armstrong took a leap for mankind, he knew we could overcome any obstacle and prevail over any challenge. as buzz aldrin walked on the moon, an entire nation saw a promise fulfilled and a challenge met. these men personified president kennedy's call to the students of rice university and the address that launched the moon shot when he said the vows of this nation can only be

fulfilled if we are first. and, therefore, we intend to be first. our leadership and science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligation to ourselves as well as others all require us to make this effort. those of us who remember the president's statement thought it was unimaginable that we could send a man to the moon and back safely within ten years. but this -- these astronauts knew it was possible. they insured that we were first, first to set foot on the moon, and the industries of innovation, first in the pursuit of peace and partnership and search of security for our country and around the world. and we still must be first today. we must sustain the spirit of those flights when americans no

longer feel bound by the limits of the past but inspired by the possibilities of the present and the frontiers of the future. and that same address at rice university, which senator hutchison referenced as well. president kennedy reminded us, the united states was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. this country was conquered by those who moved forward and so will space. these four men, these astronauts of the new frontier did not wait or rest or wish. they did not look back or behind. they moved forward and our country moved forward with them, into space, into new generations of exploration, and into a new frontier of discovery, progress and hope for our future.

for their spirit, for their actions, for their inspiration in this time of thanksgiving season, we thank them. we honor them, we congratulate them for receiving the highest civilian honor this country can bestow, the congressional gold medal. congratulations. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. >> in early 1959, about six months after congress formally created the national aeronautics and space administration, a