Looking to recreate a historic space flight

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - January 22, 2008 A private organization is looking for volunteer astronauts to recreate John Glenn's historic 1962 space flight. Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. Now, Americans In Orbit-50 Years wants to raise about 45 million bucks to launch another American into orbit in a replica Mercury space capsule. The Alabama-based group says would-be astronauts don't need space flight experience but do have to be experienced pilots. They can't be too tall either. The Mercury capsule was cramped, so the 50th anniversary astronaut can't be over 5-foot-11. But one veteran of the space program doesn't think much of the shoe-string space effort. Former NASA flight director Chris Kraft says space flight can be very dangerous and very difficult.