The Glenn is under construction in San Diego, where a keel-laying ceremony signifying the initial step in construction was held earlier this week. When it enters the fleet, which is expected in 2015, the vessel will be 837 feet long and displace 80,000 tons when loaded. Navy officials say they can use it for both warfighting and humanitarian missions. The ship was in the Pentagon budget before the current debate over the fiscal cliff and defense spending cuts got under way. Meanwhile, NASA is no longer able to put astronauts in orbit because funding for manned flights ended when the space shuttles were grounded.
John Glenn was a Marine pilot who became one of NASA’s seven original Mercury astronauts. He was friendly with John F. Kennedy, who recruited him to become a politician. During his years in the Senate, he was among Ohio’s most popular elected officials. Glenn ran for president in 1984 but didn’t make it out of the primaries. He was a flop as a national candidate.
Navy officials say they plan to build three ships similar to the USNS John Glenn, which are designed as giant sea-going supply and troop platforms. They can carry three hovercraft for amphibious operations. The Navy calls the ships Mobile Landing Platforms and says the design is based on the huge commercial supertankers that carry crude oil from Alaska.
Glenn is in his nineties and attended the keel-laying ceremony. He is active and campaigned last fall for President Barack Obama’s reelection.
