john glenn sr. and mrs. atefully proud of their son's accomplishments. >> john was prepared for the orve orbital flight as were the other astronauts and the entire team. >> in a way, john has been preparing all his life for his venture into space. as a small boy, his idea of a holiday was a visit to the airport. and when he grew up, it was no surprise to us when he decided to learn to fly. >> flight commanded young john's major interests. he had to learn to fly. world war ii interrupted college. he received his first flying lessons from pilot harry clever. >> this is john's flight record with my combat after his first flight, which was eager to learn, relaxed, alert, and good coordination. he certainly has retained these flight qualities right into outer space. [ playing "anchors away" ] >> flight training in pensacola at corpus christi. many aviators have won their wings here. like these cadets, john went on to learn about airplanes and with time for physical conditioning and sports and for religious inspira

to this day john glenn insists he was no hero. just a patriot serving his country which in those days was gripped by the notion that america and democracy itself had fallen behind. these were daring missions but they were vital missions as well. neil armstrong asked why did you, this one man, choose to speak for all when you set your foot on the lunar surface? as it turns out, there was no script. there were no notes. when the moment came, neil turned to the people that worked on the project, the designers and engineers and navigators, all who devised that one small step. he said and i quote, "he knew it would be a big something for all those folks and a lot of others who weren't even involved in the project." and so it was. buzz aldrin, far from being caught up in the adrenaline paused to reflect. he took out a waifer and then wine and observed communion on the moon just as columbus had done when he reached the new world. buzz invited everyone to give thanks in his or her own way and when neil and buzz planted the stars and strip

john glenn had been watching these kids do the double dutch jump roping. and he came over. he was just a kid then. he was probably about 75. he came over and he said, do you mind if i try this? he was just like one of the teenagers, double dutch jump roping. so i have so many fond memories of john glenn and the role model that he has been for me as a senator. sometimes it seems the more we learn about the great reaches of the heavens, the more we have left to learn. so much left to learn. but space travel has taught us as much about the planet we call home as it has about the mystery that lies beyond. and for that we have these four pioneers to thank. thank you very much. >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. >> well, i think i'm going to go ahead and say what i think everybody here is thinking. this is pretty cool. when the prime minister of australia addressed the congress last march, she said that as a little girl watching the men land on the moon proved to her that americans could do anything. she

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. the honorable 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 down inside when the flag goes by, and i know all of yo

attended services at this church when he was a bo moment at john glenn'shurch. ♪ his excellence ♪ his glory is above the earth and heaven ♪ the earth and heaven ♪ >> john and annie were married at this church by dr. henry evans. >> they made a most handsome couple, john in his marine uniform, annie a beautiful happy bride. they both recognized the importance of the spiritual things of life as well as the mental and physical. >> the trial is also great for those who wait as recalled by annie's parents. homer and margaret castor. a real test of courage for annie, too. >> she was a very brave girl. >> annie had complete faith in the space program just as she had confidence in everything johnny set out to do.>> this ho glenn. glenn are gratefully proud of their son's accomplishments. >> john was prepared for the orbital flight as was the entire team. >> in pr jing all his life for venture into space. as a small boy, his idea of a holiday was a visit to the airport. and when he grew up, it was no surprise to us when he decided to learn to fly. >> flight command

psyche that badly needed boost on to the launch pad. >> godspeed, john glenn. >> 3 2, 1. >> john glenname the first human to orbit the earth helping american become the trailblazer in space exploration. >> zero g and i feel fine. that view is tremendous. >> the ophthalmologist were concerned that your eyes may change shape and your vision would end of so you could not see the panel enough to make an emergency reentry. >> it's a good thing they were wrong. he circled the earth three times in five hours and had to steer by hand. on reentry he stopped fireworks. >> that was a real fireball. >> he watched part of his spaceship tear away and you read the heat shield would not hold up. >> the deal looks good, over. >> it was a safe and beautiful landing. today, his concern is budget cuts. >> we lead the world on innovation and technology. if we ever lose that lead, we will lose leadership. >> he hopes an american will land on mars and once again send the nation's pride in to the great beyond. scott goldberg, abc news nenew york. >> ahead at 6:00, a look at what we missed when winter stopped

finally, godspeed john glenn. it's 50 years since that never-to-be-forgotten liftoff, the ooshit that lifted the country. could we use a skyward jolt like that now? who's out there that can give america the liftoff it needs today more than ever? hi, i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us today, "time" magazine's michael duffy. christian science monitor liz marlantes. nbc's kelly o'connell and national journal major garrett. first up, it's panic time among republican leaders. they feel their most conservative voters painted the party until a very difficult corner. the long primary process has exposed the candidate who always looked most electable, mrmmrm, have having real -- mitt romney having trouble talking real. two attempts this week. >> any old girlfriends here? [laughter] have to be careful. ann's not here today. don't tell. >> a little history. i was born and raised here. i love this state. it seems right here trees are the right height. chris: trees are the right height. the only alternative is rt

sort of, i guess comes home to you that your own mortality is around here some place. >> reporter: john glenn has never been accused of lack of dedication. in april glenn and his wife annie will celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary. for decades he was told he could never return to space because he was a national treasure. he finally wore them down and at 77 he went back up in the space shuttle for good measure. >> it's been a fine mission so far. >> the ultimate irony may be it irks senator glenn that the manned space program is now idle. the shuttle program is over and the only ride available into space for american astronauts is the russians, the former enemy that john glenn was chasing into space 50 years ago today. that is our broadcast for this holiday monday night. thanks for being with us as we start off a new week. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com e eye. >>> good evening, everyone. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathieu. it might be a

11144, we will present a gold medal to the honorable john glenn, first american to orbit the earth. neil armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon. michael collins, the pilot of apollo 11's command module. and dr. buzz aldrin, pilot of apollo's lunar module and the second human being to walk on the moon. we're honored to be joined by a number of distinguished public servants and members of the nasa community, including the most recent astronaut class, which graduated not long ago. also with us are members of the crew of the uss hornet, the carrier that recovered the apollo 11 astronauts when they splashed down in the pacific. before we have the presentation of colors, let me draw your attention to the flag here on stage. senator glenn did so on february 26th, 1962. on september 16th, 1969, the crew of the apollo 11 presented speaker john mccormack with a flag they carried to the moon. today the flag is under the care of the house sergeant of arms, bill livingood. as some of you know, bill has had a great affection for the flag. i've told he has even held birthday parties for it

>> well, the john glenn's flight -- fight was really important.it was the first time we put a man in orbit. that was important to match the soviets accomplishment. >> so where does nasa go from here? >> well, of course at the moment, i would say that the human crisis is in a bit of a situation, because what is the long-term purpose aside going up? >> doesn't really matter if we do not have people in space? >> that is a good question, because there are some people who believe we can do it all with robots. i think people just want to go. humans want to experience it personally. the real questions are about deep space, whether we can really go into deep space because of radiation and other. >> in purely scientific terms, there have been successful missions to mars using robot. why can that not be the future? >> are we going to do that and humans in orbit and deep space, or are we only going to do with robots? there is radiation and other dangers, but humans i think would really like to experience that, and in some particular cases, like the moon land

as well as john glenn during this hour-long event, which was held in the capital rotunda. >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. >> ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the capitol rotunda. since the day of the american revolution, congress has commissioned gold medals to express appreciation for distinguished achievements and distributions to our country. the first recipient of a gold medal was general george washington. and today

. >> 50 years after john glenn was wished godspeed, we look back on the first american mission to orbit the earth. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. meetings stretching into the night. greece's future on the line, and the massive bailout fund in the balance. you may get a sinking sense of deja vu. that is what is happening again in brussels this evening. for two years, grace has been at the center of the -- center of the eurozone crisis. it is the focus of attention again. >> the mood has changed in brussels. europe's finance ministers all made it clear that they do expect this deal to go through. the chairman of the meeting said it has to be concluded now. greece is saying they have done enough. the eu's chief economic official said he did expect the deal to go through, but that would not be the end of the eurozone's problems. >> now that i have this decision, i just tonight, we can turn the page and turn the corner. learn from it. stabilization, sustainable growth. that is what is certainly needed in europe now. >> the package, without which athens will go

in the john glenn story. ♪ >>> we'll look at the future of the u.s.pace program tomorrow afternoon on c-span2. starting at 5:30 p.m. eastern with florida senator marco rubio calling for renewed space exploration. at 5:40, ohio senator sherrod brown on the 50th anniversary of john glenn becoming the first american to orbit the earth. at 5:50, newt gingrich calls for a permanent u.s. colony on the moon. at 6:00 eastern, stewart powell of the "houston chronicle" on the obama administration's plans for nasa and what republican presidential candidates are saying about the space agency. and then at 6:40, nasa administrator charles bolden outlining the administration's budget proposal for his agency. our look at the future of u.s. space policy begins at 5:30 p.m. eastern tomorrow on c-span2. coming up on c-span3, american history tv coverage of the history of the space program. in a few moments, an oral history interview with former nasa flight director gene kranz. in an hour and a half, the congressional gold medal ceremony honoring astronauts john glenn, n

and public policy and the john glenn archives. the distinguished director of the john glenn institute is with us this evening, professor deborah merritt. deborah, would you please stand? thank you. inspired by john glenn's career and his vision, the institute is having a major impact on our students, faculty and programs. just ask the students from the institute's washington internship program who are here this evening. we gather this evening on the 40th anniversary of senator glenn's historic flight to hear this distinguished american deliver the 2002 memorial lecture. many of you will recall, as i do, the enormous sense of national pride we felt 40 years ago today as we sat glued to our television sets to watch astronauts john glenn lift off the face of the earth, circumnavigate the globe, and land safely in the atlantic ocean. he became, of course, an instant national hero. few, if any, have ever carried universal acclaim and hero status with such grace and humility. you're all familiar with the mile post along his illustrious

it was a real big thing. >> reporter: george tinwell remembers watching john glenn blast into space back in 1962. at the same time glenn's family watched it from inside their arlington home which was surrounded by the press. nearly 40 years later that same home caught the eye of george and emolia manuel. >> we actually didn't know about it when we came to see this property and spoke to the realtor, she knew about it. >> at first i thought it was kind of different, but didn't really give it much thought of. >> reporter: over the 12 years the couple has lived here they learned to appreciate their piece of space history. >> there's always people coming by and stopping. i happened to see high of magazine. the price was right. so i said well, i'll just keep them here around the house of. >> reporter: inside these old high of magazines are pictures of glenn family watch -- life magazines are pictures of the glenn family watching the launch from the living room, the fear on his wife's face at liftoff and relief at landing. they famously refused to allow then vice president lyndon b. johnson and

again turned to john glenn because we were in a big hurry to orbit the earth. >> you look to the earlypace flights as almost being like you're going on a combat mission. you're representing your country in something that's important. >> reporter: russia scared us into action five years earlier by launching what was basically a silver basketball with a flashing light on it called sputnik. they sent up the first astronaut. they were the first to orbit. the only rocket we had was a converted ballistic nuclear missile, so glenn sat on top of that in a capsule so primitive by today's standards there is more technology in the average ford f-150 than there was aboard "friendship 7." >> three, two, one, zero. >> reporter: the montage in "the right stuff" is all real. the u.s. failed at a number of launch attempts and there was no guarantee glenn would survive this one. off he went accompanied by the famous blessing. >> god speed, john glenn. >> reporter: the nation stopped 50 years ago today. he was only up there for five hours, three orbits yet there was so much we didn't know. nasa scientist

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it took a huge team of people gn dedicated as john glenn and secy perhaps as courageous whoof ensured the safety and security with astronauts, preserve the pride of a grateful nation. john will be in florida on this weekend to meet with those who t were part of that operation, the engineers, the scientist, theg m technicians. and thanking them again for up a sending hindm up and bringing hs down safely. their service has inspired generations of future nasa technicians and mission controlo specialists from plum brookusky station in sandusky the nasa glenn insa cleveland, to nasa in centers around the country. one of the first pressan the conferences, john glenn said this whole project stands withep us now like the wright brothers, sa ohioans also, stood at kitty us hawk. i think we something as big and as sta on rspansive as that was 50 years a ago. it that s it's that spirit of discovery,ya that conviction, duty and faitha that john glenn and bodies anden that his flight aboard friendship seven symbolizes.ce it's my honor to introduce thisn bipartisan resolution celebrating such an im

weekend to talk about america's 50 years of manned space flies. >>> nasa workers cheered 90-year-old john glennnd 86-year-old scott carpenner. -- carpenter. glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. glenn lifted off in a converted nuclear missile called friendship 7 and radioed back what he saw. >> they look like little stars. >> the flakes were frost from the capsule's water exhaust, his three or bits took three hours and 55 minutes. nasa wasn't even sure how glenn's body would react in space. >> doctors were literally concerned at that time that your eyes might change shape and your vision would change enough to not be able to make an emergency reentry. >>> he learned from glenn's flight. >>> he newbie then that man could operate intelligently. >> reporter: the two space veterans talked about the past and agreed about america's next mission. >> if we make the flight to mars that will regavel nize -- get people going again. >> reporter: john glenn says he only recently gave up flying and sold his twin engine beach craft plane. >> we didn't even know he was there when the media guy wa

john glenn in 1961, 50 years ago.ight inside the national air and space museum on the mall, the tiny capsule that carried glenn for the historic three hoshts orbits is on displ >> three times. >> three times. >> in this little thing. >> yeah. >> what did you think when you see it? >> i think that he wouldn't have been comfortable in there. >> the andrew emerson family from bethesda was part of a big crowd at the smithsonian's most visited museum. all sorts of languages could be heard as tourists relived the american achievement and how it affected them. you're looking here. what are you thinking 50 years ago? >> i was in first grade at the time. in ohio. so john glenn was my hero and i became a b-52 navigator and went to the air force because of john glenn and 50 years ago today. >> reporter: while the tourists took in the sights, john glenn this week was warning again that america is foolish to turn from the space travel and exploration. this family from san francisco and others agreed with glenn. >> space is the nex

john glenn is now 90 years old.1998 when he was 77 he became the oldest person ever to travel in space. >>> coming up tonight on news 4 at 11:00 breaking news in prince george's county where a car has crashed into a kfc restaurant and we're hearing someone may have been killed. plus the stations are quickly being built along the silver line to dulles. what are the new names going to be? news 4 has a preview of the choices you'll get to select. >> final word? >> looking pretty good across the area today but some areas and really most of the area did see at least some snow. if you live in parts of virginia you were the big winners out of this storm and southern maryland also seeing some snow but around washington to the north just a few flurries at best if that was all you saw. dusting to an inch down in places like southern fairfax county, prince william county over toward faucier county and then around an inch in portions of charles and st. mary's, up to 2 inches, 1 to 3 around culpepper and big areas. 4 to 10 inche

exactly 50 years ago, john glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. he marked the anniversary at ohio state university, talking with astronauts aboard the international space station. he remembered that his pioneering day he said was the best day of his life and a big moment for america too. here's abc's john donvan. >> reporter: precisely 50 years ago this morning, a man in a silver suit put america's confidence back on track. >> god speed, john glenn. >> reporter: what john glenn did on february 20th, 1962, his triple circum navigation of the globe, it was just what the nation needed and just at the moment he did it. because the soviet union had already put two men up there who had circled the earth 18 times between them. almost mocking us in how they celebrated, back when we measured everything in terms of whether we were beating the communists. but now glenn was up there watching sunrise after sunset as he circled at 17,000 miles an hour. >> i feel fine. turning around. oh, the view is tremendous. >> reporter: his heartbeat audible and calm. and i

plus, 50 years after john glenn made history. >> god speed, john glenn. >> 3, 2, 1, 0. >> roger, the clock is operating. we are underway. >> shepard: we'll look at nasa's incredible record of achievement and set backs. >> nasa, we have a problem. >> and what comes next in the race to the stars. first, from fox this holiday monday, gas prices in america hitting record levels for this time of year, and it comes as iran threatens to cut oil exports which could cause a spike in petroleum prices around the world. first aaa reports the average for a gallon of regular gas is 3.57. the high it's ever been so earlier of the year. some parts of the country it's more expensive. parts of california seeing prices for super around 5 bucks. >> they are getting pretty ridiculous. i suppose they have been for a while now. but it just seems to be getting higher and higher. it's pretty crazy. >> we are going to cut out of here and find another gas station. >> shepard: don't look for any relief there or anywhere else. oil prices are also on the rise. there is no evidence they will be heading back down a

by the time it was all over, in 4 hours and 55 minutes, john glenn became the first american to actually orbit the earth. and this was the headline that people woke up to the day afterwards, felt wonderful. despite the fact they were worried that they had lost his heat shield in that flight and didn't know if he was going to survive reentry. >> very cool. >> that was unbelievable. >> do you remember the old sports page from that year? what'd the dodgers do that day. >> only a couple of athletes from that era could muster up excitement, and you've got them, don't you. >> buster posy makes his return on the field, but one giants picture suffers an injury already, and jeremy lin gets the chance to go national today. meanwhile, fill mickelson, can he make it back to back after pebble? "..." >> jeremy lin's high school coach is in such high demand that he needs a new phone that can handle seven calls at a time. >> anytime i'm actually on a phone call, that means i missed between four and seven phone calls from new york, every time. >> i tell you what, abc got his phone number today. pete dipe

. >> there's one thing john glenn would like to change. he looks back on the 50 years since his historic flight. that's still ahead. >> and the caps seek back to back wins in the sunshine state. lindsey murphy is up next with sports. hi gwen. >> we are keeping a close eye on this system to the south because it's headed up the atlantic sea board and it could bring us snow. we'll let you know all the details and what to expect coming up. we'll be back after the break. texting...blogging... all this technology, but you're still banking like pilgrims! get high yield free checking at capital one bank. why earn bupkis, when your checking could earn five times the national average!! and free atms anywhere. five times the national average!!! that's new school banking. sign up for high yield free checking at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? somebody help me down. >>> the caps, we talked about during the commercials, easily won the southeast. four seasons in a row, but now some injuries have played havoc on the team. >> they have been boun

we're under way. >> reporter: and it wasn't long before john glenn confirmed from space -- >> zero g, and i feel fine. the capsule is turning around. oh, that view is tremendous and i could see the booster during turnaround just a couple of hundred yards behind me. it was beautiful. >> perfect booster engine -- >> reporter: you might remember abc's then science correspondent jules bergman and that special report on one historic mission. >> mercury control tells us colonel glenn will soon be the free world and america's first man to undergo orbital flight. >> reporter: john glenn would circle the earth three times in his space capsule traveling at speeds reaching 17,000 miles an hour but then a dangerous crisis. the automated steering system jammed. the capsule's heat shield began to tear away on re-entry. flaming fireballs came flying past his window. >> my condition is good, but that was a real fireball, boy. >> reporter: the odds, one in six he would not survive. but the unflappable glenn acted swiftly taking over the spaceship's controls manually steering friendship 7 safely back t

>> john glenn rocketed into history making america's first orbital flight. approaching the bottom of the hour and the top of the necessary -- news coming up. what's this? it's progresso's loaded potato with bacon. it's good. honey, i love you... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> shepard: i'm shepard smith. this is "studio b." it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. as syria continues to fire on its own citizens, there's been a new show of international support for the syrian government. as we reported earlier, two iranian warships arrived in the sirrian part for training naval forces. that is the reporting of iran's state television. this marks the second time iranian ships passed through the suez canal since 1979. israel calls the move a political provocation. johnathan hunt is here. you wonder what kind of boost this is really for the syrian president, bashar al-assad. >> he seems to be getting military support from

in the end john glenn did get his wish to return to space. in 1998 at age 77 he became the oldest american to orbit the earth aboard the space shuttle discovery. >> warner: earlier today judy woodruff spoke to john glenn from ohio. >> woodruff: senator glen, thank you for talking with us. you were piloting this space craft manually. you were dealing with the possibility that that heat shield was burning up. on reentry. your flight director said there was nothing about this flight that was easy. how much more dangerous was it than you had expected? >> well, obviously you train for all the things that may happen. you don't train for a normal mission where everything goes okay. some of the things though that happened were ones that we had not been able to practice. so at the end of the first orbit the automatic control system went out. so i had to take over manually and control. and that wasn't a big problem. then at the end of the flight though, that's where there was an indication that the heat shield might be loose. that required then that we

on february 20th, 1962, glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. >> godspeed, john glenn. ter: glenn lifted off in a converted nuclear missile called friendship 7 and radioed back what he saw. >> i am in a big mass of some very small particles that are brilliantly lit up and they look like little stars. >> reporter: the flakes were frost from the capsule's water exhaust. his three orbits took four hours and 55 minutes and glenn came home to a hero's welcome, but nasa wasn't even sure how glenn's body would react in space. >> doctors were literally concerned at that time that your eyes might change shape and your vision might change enough you couldn't even see the instrument panel enough to make an emergency reentry. >> reporter: carpenter followed aboard aurora 7 in may of 1962 and he learned from glenn's flight. >> we knew by then that man could operate intelligently. >> reporter: the two space veterans talked about the past and agreed about america's next mission. >> we make that flight to mars, that will regalvinize people again. >> reporter: the pioneers also paid trib