COLUMBUS, Ohio — NASA surprised John Glenn with the kind of anniversary gift only a space agency can give, enabling him to speak live with the International Space Station on Monday as he marked 50 years since his historic spaceflight.

The former astronaut and senator from Ohio, now 90, became the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, circling it three times in five hours and helping to lead the nation into space. He celebrated the anniversary at Ohio State University by kicking off a forum about NASA’s future.

Sitting on stage with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, he chatted with three space station crew members about space research and NASA’s future. Commander Dan Burbank appeared by video link, flanked by two flight engineers floating in the zero-gravity environment, and said the crew was delighted to help commemorate Glenn’s momentous trip.

Glenn was among the top military test pilots presented in 1959 as the Mercury Seven. The only other surviving Mercury astronaut is Scott Carpenter, who called out the memorable line “Godspeed John Glenn” moments before the rocket ignited for Glenn’s spaceflight.

“Fifty years ago today, Friendship 7 was orbiting planet Earth, and that helped in a very big way, paved the way for America to become a space power, and to go to the moon, and to do the things that we’re doing right now on the International Space Station,” Burbank said. “And we hope this also can help set the stage for us down the road to do even greater things.”

Glenn and Annie, his wife of almost seven decades, were scheduled to cap Monday’s anniversary by participating in a student-led question-and-answer session during an evening gala featuring a keynote speech by former astronaut Mark Kelly, the commander of the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission.

Whitney Houston items to be included in auction

LOS ANGELES — There had to be an auction, but so soon?

A black velvet dress that belonged to Whitney Houston and a pair of earrings she wore in “The Bodyguard” will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said Sunday the pieces and other Houston items became available after the singer’s unexpected death Feb. 11 and will be included among a long-planned sale of Hollywood memorabilia such as Charlie Chaplin’s cane, Clark Gable’s jacket from “Gone With the Wind” and Charlton Heston’s staff from “The Ten Commandments.”

But could it be too soon to profit from Houston’s passing?

“It’s a celebration of her life,” Julien said. “If you hide these things in fear that you’re going to offend someone – her life is to be celebrated. These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She’s lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had.”

Houston is “someone who’s going to maintain a collectability,” he said. “For people who are fans of Whitney Houston and never would have had a chance to meet her and never got to talk to her, these are items that literally touched a part of her life.”

Astronaut Kelly authors book for children

NEW YORK — Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who collaborated with his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, on her memoir, is writing a children’s book about a mouse that goes to space.

“On my first space shuttle flight, we had 18 mice on board as experiments,” Kelly said. “And 17 of them, as soon as we got into zero gravity, stayed latched on to the side of the cage. But one of them seemed comfortable through the whole mission, like he was enjoying it.”

His “Mousetronaut: A Partially True Story” will be published in October by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Kelly, who turns 48 today, collaborated with Giffords on the memoir “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope,” which told of her recovery from a shooting.

Prince hospitalized after brawl in club

NEW YORK — A grandson of the late Princess Grace of Monaco was briefly hospitalized after a brawl in a New York City nightclub.

Prince Pierre Casiraghi suffered cuts to his face during the brawl.

Former nightclub owner Adam Hock was arraigned Sunday on charges of assaulting the prince and three friends at the Double Seven nightspot in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

An attorney who represents the 24-year-old prince said Casiraghi was treated at a hospital and released after Saturday’s brawl.

Attorney Richard Golub said Casiraghi’s group did not “instigate anything” or provoke the attack.

Also punched in the melee was shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III.