John Glenn was not popular with the other astronauts. Glenn was the backup pilot for Shepard and Grissom on the first two manned Project Mercury flights, the sub-orbital missions Mercury-Redstone 3 and Mercury-Redstone 4. Glenn was selected for Mercury-Atlas 6, NASA's first manned orbital flight, with Carpenter as his backup. Putting a man in orbit would achieve one of Project Mercury's most important goals. Shepard and Grissom had named their spacecraft "Freedom 7" and "Liberty Bell 7". The numeral 7 had originally been the production number of Shepard's spacecraft, but had come to represent the Mercury 7. Glenn named his spacecraft, number
John and Annie Glenn Museum John and Annie Glenn Museum The John & Annie Glenn Museum is a museum in New Concord, Ohio, United States, honoring astronaut and senator John Glenn and his wife Annie Glenn. It is located at the site of Glenn's boyhood home, which has been moved back to Main Street in New Concord, Ohio and restored as it was when he lived there until his enlistment in World War II. The mission of the museum is to honor the first American to orbit the Earth and his partnership with a remarkable woman. They also teach about life during the Great Depression