Fifty years ago John Glenn orbited the earth three times in his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, assuring a breathless public that, “man, the view is tremendous.”
Big and pretty as it is, space currently takes up less room in the national imagination. Yet during the first dozen years of this young century at least one American has been living in space at any given moment, including two enjoying the view right now. These days, though, when an American astronaut gets itchy feet, he or she must hitch a ride with the Russians.