By Kathy Sawyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 17, 1998; Page A03

NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin yesterday made it official: "I am extremely proud to announce that John Glenn of Ohio, the first American to orbit the Earth, will get his long-awaited second flight."

Sen. Glenn (D-Ohio), 76, smiled benignly, eyes twinkling, as he claimed his prize at a packed news conference at NASA headquarters with his wife, Annie, watching in the audience. "I see this as another adventure into the unknown," Glenn said. "I guarantee you I'll give it the very best I have."

Glenn, it seemed, had managed to convert his own stubborn determination into a rocket propellant powerful enough to boost a grandpa into orbit. He had overcome institutional inertia, bureaucratic gravity and societal norms.

"Children will look at their grandparents differently," Goldin said.

Goldin also confirmed an earlier report in The Washington Post that elementary schoolteacher Barbara Morgan, 46, a McCall, Idaho, mother of two sons, will join the astronaut corps. Morgan served as backup to Christa McAuliffe, the "teacher-in-space" who died in the 1986 Challenger disaster.

Morgan, like Glenn, has pushed NASA for a spaceflight, which would allow her to complete McAuliffe's tragically aborted mission. Morgan told the Associated Press, "If we're not willing as a society to take some risk for learning, for our future, then we are not doing enough."

But Goldin cautioned that NASA is not returning to the more casual "civilians-in-space" concept that preceded the Challenger explosion. "We are expanding the reach of the astronaut program," he said, noting that other scientifically oriented educators, as well as more biologists and geologists, are invited to apply.

Goldin also emphasized that spaceflight remains risky. "This is not a signal that it's safe to fly in space. This is a signal that we're trying to do the maximum space research to benefit the American people -- and to inspire people."

Glenn, he said, "knows that there is a finite possibility he may not come back. But the criterion was: Could he pass the tests? America is not about fear."

Rep. Timothy J. Roemer (D-Ind.), a persistent critic of the human spaceflight program, said the decision to send Glenn "is the right stuff. [Glenn] may . . . rekindle some of the magic and glory that NASA has lost in the last few years."

Glenn is scheduled to fly aboard the shuttle Discovery Oct. 29 as a payload specialist and part-time guinea pig, participating in medical research on problems -- such as weakened bone and muscle and blood flow problems -- that afflict both healthy young astronauts in orbit and elderly people on the ground. He turns 77 in July.

The congratulations poured in, and the "astro-geezer jokes" have already started on late-night TV. Bill Maher of ABC's "Politically Incorrect" said Glenn will set more than one new record: "Not only will he be the oldest man in space, he will be the first astronaut to pre-board."

Glenn said in an interview after the briefing that he has been a little surprised at the sheer quantity of media interest in his flight. As for the burgeoning jokes and cartoons, he laughed heartily when told about a few.

He will not enter astronaut training as "the Senator," said Glenn, who plans to retire from Congress next year. "I'll just be John."

The schedule for that preparation is not yet set. But sometime soon, during breaks in the Senate schedule if possible, Glenn will begin making periodic trips to Johnson Space Center in Houston. He said he believes that no part of the preparation, emergency procedures, or other aspects of the training and flight will give him difficulty because of his age.

One visceral reason he so yearns to return to space, he said, is because "it's exhilarating, being able to look out at Earth, see something other people never see. But that's not why we send people into space."

Explaining why Glenn is being sent was the primary business of the news conference.

There, flanked by a huge grainy poster of the young Glenn in his Mercury spacesuit from the 1960s and facing a standing-room-only crowd of cameras and international press, Goldin said Glenn's "commitment to service will ensure that one of the great heroes of the 20th century will be America's first hero of the 21st century. . . . This is not a flight of fancy."

Goldin and Glenn talked about the senator's long-standing interest in scientific research, his remarkable physical condition, his courage and other practical factors. But Goldin made it clear that Glenn's history and character played as big a role in the decision as his proposal to serve as a guinea pig for research that might benefit the elderly.

"Standing next to me is the most tenacious person on the planet," Goldin said. Referring to Glenn's background as a Marine fighter pilot and space pioneer, Goldin said, "When someone who has risked their life countless times for our space program and our country comes to you and asks: `I'm willing to take the risk of spaceflight . . . can I go?' If that person proves they have a unique blend of experience, expertise and excellent health, the answer is certainly yes."

Glenn said he first made a formal proposal to Goldin two years ago. Both Glenn and Goldin emphatically denied there was any political pressure, from the White House or elsewhere, surrounding the decision. Last summer, Glenn defended White House interests in his role as ranking Democrat on a Republican-led committee that was investigating alleged campaign finance abuses.

President Clinton was "thoroughly delighted" with the choice, according to White House spokesman Mike McCurry. "I've always encouraged him [Glenn] to think about this, and I'm pleased NASA thinks it's the right decision," McCurry quoted Clinton as saying.

Asked why another older astronaut already in the NASA corps had not been allowed to fly as well, Goldin said that man's wife had assured him she "would kill me."

Glenn's own wife was "cool" to the idea, Glenn said, as were his children. But they "talked it out."