John Glenn, Scott Carpenter Will Attend Celebration Of Mercury
45th Anniversary
The Kennedy Space
Center Visitor Complex and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation are
hosting the "Back to the 60’s Barbeque" on Friday, November
2, 2007. It's a tribute to the 45th Anniversary of the Mercury
program, and celebrates the opening of World Space Expo.
Set among the Redstone and Atlas rockets of the Mercury program
in the Visitor Complex’s iconic Rocket Garden, the evening
begins with a flyover by twin F-18 Super Hornets, a rare night jump
by the US Army Parachute Team Golden Knights and a special guest
appearance by Mercury astronauts John Glenn and Scott
Carpenter.
During cocktails and an outdoor barbeque, guests can enjoy top
60's beach music and visit World Space Expo pavilions to see a 1961
Russian Vostock capsule, a full-scale model of SpaceShipOne,
NASA’s 50th Anniversary Exhibit and other space-related
exhibits. Also scheduled to appear are Christopher Scolese, NASA
Associate Administrator; Bill Parsons, Kennedy Space Center
Director; and Brig. Gen. Susan J. Helms, 45th Space Wing Commander
and Eastern Range Director, Patrick Air Force Base.
"What better way to open the World Space Expo than with a
tribute to the seven brave men who pioneered America’s manned
space program," said Daniel LeBlanc, Chief Operating Officer of
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, host of the World Space Expo.
"These are becoming rare opportunities to see legendary astronauts
John Glenn and Scott Carpenter in celebration of the beginning of
America’s manned space program."
Project Mercury was the United States’ first manned space
program. The program successfully launched six of the original
"Mercury 7" into space including Alan Shepard, the first American
in space, John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth on February
20, 1962 and Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit Earth on
May 24, 1962.
Originally named the Mercury Seven Foundation, the Astronaut
Scholarship Foundation was established in 1984 by the six surviving
members of America's original Mercury astronauts, including John
Glenn and Scott Carpenter, to preserve the United States'
leadership role in science and technology by providing scholarships
to outstanding college science and engineering students. Their
dream was realized with the opening of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of
Fame in 1990.
Tickets are available for the "Back to the 60's Barbeque" on
Friday, November 2 at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $50 plus tax for adults
and $40 plus tax for children 3-11. Tickets for Kennedy Space
Center Visitor Complex Commander’s Club Annual Passholders
are $40 for adults and children plus tax.
The celebration of the 45th anniversary program continues at
World Space Expo on November 3 and November 4 with an Aerial Salute
to 50 Years in Space, featuring the US Air Force Thunderbirds.
Demonstrations by the US Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, the
920th Rescue Wing, based at Patrick Air Force Base, and a heritage
flight featuring P-51 Mustangs, the original aircraft flown by many
of the Mercury astronauts, will pay tribute to the men and women
who made America’s first manned space program possible.
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