John Glenn, NASA astronaut and US Senator dies aged 95
Born in 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio
John Glenn was born in 1921 toJohn Herschel Glenn, Sr and Clara Teresa Glenn in the city of Cambridge. He was raised in the nearby town of New Concord.
John Glenn the pilot
Before being selected as part of the Project Mercury space mission, John Glenn was an experienced pilot. After graduating from the Marine Corps in 1943, Glenn would go on to fly 59 combat missions during WWII and again another 63 in Korea. When not at war, Glenn was a test pilot who brokenumerous records, and accumulated nearly 9,000 hours of flying time, 3,000of whichin jets.
Family man
John Glenn married his high school sweetheart,Anna Margaret Castor in 1943, and they remained together until his death. Theyhad two children, John David and Carolyn Ann.
Project Mercury Astronaut
In 1958, Glenn applied to NASA to be part of their new space programme. Without a Bachelors degree and being nearly 40 years old, he barely met the requirements, but in 1959 was selected to the NASA Space Task Groupas a back up pilot toAlan Shepard and Gus Grissom, the two astronauts who preceded him into space.
Preparation for space flight
On 12 April 1961, the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarinhad already become the first man to orbit the Earth, but the knowledge they gained about the effects of space flight on the human body remained secret. John Glenn required extensive training and dealt with a huge amount of uncertainty before making his historic flight.
Lift off!
At 11:03 UTC on 20 February 20, after over a month of delays John Glenn finally climbed aboard the Friendship 7 module and was launched into space aboard the Atlas rocket.
The first American to orbit the Earth
John Glenn spent nearly five hours in space, orbiting the Earth three times, but it was not completely without incident: Ground Control were concerned about Sensor 51, which showed the heat shield and landing bag were no longer locked into position, an overheating space suit and the need to conserve energy. Glenn was able to resolve the issues and also noticed what appeared to be "fireflies" across his vision, describing them as"little specks, brilliant specks, floating around outside the capsule".
Return to Earth
The Friendship 7 module returned to Earth in the Atlantic ocean, some 40 miles away from the planned landing site. He was picked up by the USS NOA, and after some difficulty getting out of the spacecraft reportedly said to his rescuers "It was hot in there."
National hero
Back at home, John Glenn was honoured as a national hero, receiving a ticker-tape parade through New York City, alongside President John F. Kennedy. Glenn would remain close friends with the Kennedy family, and was a pallbearer at Robert F. Kennedy's funeral in 1968.
Retires as an astronaut
John Glenn retired as an astronaut in 1964, but was still on hand to offer advice to future astronauts looking to repeat his feat,like here talking to Scott Carpenter.
John Glenn the Senator
In 1974, Glenn decided to run for office as a Democratic Senator for Ohio. He won, marking the start of a 25-year career as politician, even running for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.
Return to space
On 29 October 1998, John Glenn climbed aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery and returned to space to test the effects of space on the elderly. At the age of 77, he was, and remains, the oldest person to leave Earth's orbit.
John Glenn honoured
In 2012, John Glenn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, the highest civilian honour in the the USA. Other notable honours areare theCongressional Gold Medal, induction into theU.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame,and has even had a rocket named after him by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos'Blue Origin. He was also portrayed by Ed Harris in the movieThe Right Stuff.
John Glenn (1921-2016)
On 8 December 2016, NASA announced to the world that John Glenn had died,tweeting"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra."
The oldest person in space
Decorated serviceman
John Glenn trains for space travel, aged 77
JFK shakes hands with John Glenn
US Senator John Glenn with his grandson John Zachary Glenn
Glenn in his Mercury spacesuit
And 36 years later before boarding the SS Discovery
John Glenn and his wife Annie
John Glenn at the controls of the Friendship 7
John Glenn, only four months old
John Glenn entering Friendship 7
Ticker-tape parade with Lyndon B. Johnson
Relaxing onboard the USS Noa
John Glenn in the Mercury Procedures Trainer
John Glenn looks into a "Celestial Training Device"
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