Richard Hilliard

"Godspeed, John Glenn," were the words of astronaut Scott Carpenter as John Glenn was strapped into a small Mercury capsule; minutes later in 1962, he was in space orbiting the Earth. Before this historic adventure John Glenn served in two wars and worked as a test pilot. After his space orbit, he became a celebrity and a hero. He served four terms as an Ohio senator and returned to space in 1998 as a senior citizen. His life has been a series of accomplishments.

Richard Hilliard not only authored this book, but also created big and bold illustrations. Hilliard hopes to see the day when astronauts return to the Moon and venture further into space.… (mere)

This is the story of a chimpanzee born in Africa and raised to travel into space. He first named Chang, but was renamed Ham in honor of Hollman Air Medical Center where he was trained to go into space. Ham took his first flight into space on January 31, 1961. Ham became a celebrity, but more importantly, proved that living creatures could fly into outer space. Ham was taken to the National Zoo in Washington DC, but was alone and unhappy. He was finally moved to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro to live out his life with a large colony of chimpanzees. Ham was buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Although Ham lived a short life, he paved the way for man to explore space.… (mere)