The world' s oldest astronaut, John Glenn, and Tonight Show host Jay Leno engaged in a little comic sparring Wednesday.
But it was Curt Brown, the normally soft-spoken commander of the shuttle Discovery,
who won the match hands down.
NASA's mission control linked Mr. Leno from Burbank,
Calif., with Mr. Glenn, Mr. Brown and pilot Steve Lindsey.
Mr. Leno, who had previously suggested that NASA allow the elderly Mr. Glenn to preboard Discovery before it blasted off Oct. 29, dug right in.
"Does Sen. Glenn keep telling you how tough it was in the old days, how cramped it was, how small it was, how lucky you young punks are?," wondered Mr. Leno.
"He doesn't always do that,"
Mr. Brown said. "Only when he is awake."
Would the shuttle crew furnish his audience with a demonstration of life in weightlessness, Leno asked. Lindsey tucked for a quick somersault as Brown and Glenn looked on.
"Pretty good," said Leno, obviously pleased. "That's what our band is like most of the time."
"Yeah, we've heard them," quipped Brown.
Then it dawned on Leno that with Brown, Lindsey and Glenn speaking with him simultaneously, Discovery was on autopilot.
"Who is driving right now," Leno asked with mock alarm.
"Actually, Jay," said Brown. "It's just like California. No one is driving."
Mr. Leno asked what the shuttle astronauts can see of Earth from 340 miles up.
The astronauts assured the lantern-jawed comedian that when the atmosphere is clear, they see the Great Wall of China, prominent rivers, the pyramids, even large airports.
"Jay, every time we fly over California, we see your chin," Mr. Brown said.
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