Next Cygnus commercial space freighter christened the S.S. John Glenn

Orbital ATK’s next commercial resupply freighter going to the International Space Station will be named the S.S. John Glenn, paying tribute to the legendary first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn died Dec. 8 at age 95. The company has made it tradition to give each of its autonomous Cygnus cargo ships launched under NASA’s privatized logistics delivery program to the space station a name to honor a former astronaut who has passed away. Previous Cygnus vehicles have been named for G. David Low, C. Gordon Fullerton, Janice Voss, Deke Slayton, Rick Husband and Alan Poindexter. John H. Glenn Jr., a decorated combat veteran and test pilot, was one of the original Mercury 7 — the pioneering cadre of NASA astronauts at the dawn of the space age. More

(Source: SpacveFlight Now - Mar 10)