Before orbiting the Earth and the fame that followed, astronaut John Glenn trained locally.

"Every man who stepped foot on the moon came here and trained," said Sam Cravero.

The former Dynamic Flight Simulator building sits at the former Johnsville Naval Warfare Center in Warminster Twp., Bucks Co.

"This was training before he went to orbit. This was his G-force training to prepare him for takeoff and re-entry," said Cravero, who bought the building in 2007. "This is the flight deck, one of the four rooms you need people to operate the centrifuge."

The centrifuge, which is still intact, is an 80 ton, 16,000 horsepower, million pounds of torque-producing arm. It spun Glenn and his Mercury 7 team in a circle, replicating the G-forces they would experience in space.

Astronauts would be hit with nine Gs, which is nine times their body weight pressing against them.

Johnsville's centrifuge was built in 1949, and by the late 50s was the spot at which any astronaut who wanted to take to space trained.

"Funny to think about the technology they had in 60s that got them to space," said Cravero. "Pretty much a tin can that got them into orbit."

The site went offline in 2004, but Cravero, who's converted much of the space, hasn't forgotten the past.

Astronaut humor is still showcased, antiquated computer rooms are intact and shells of early space suits still sit at the Johnsville Museum and Science Center, perhaps waiting to take off again.