Senator John Glenn, who is due to fly into orbit this week aboard the space
shuttle Discovery, won鈥檛 take part in a key medical experiment planned for the
mission. This will add fuel to criticisms that the 77-year-old astronaut, who
became the first American in space in 1962, is a political passenger rather than
a scientific one.
During the flight, Glenn was to have taken melatonin pills to determine their
effect on his sleep patterns. But it appears he was disqualified from the study
because he didn鈥檛 meet its medical criteria. NASA officials won鈥檛 reveal why he
didn鈥檛 make the grade.