Who was John Glenn?

Answer 1

John Glenn (1921-2016) was a Marine fighter pilot, a test pilot, an astronaut, and a US Senator from Ohio. He was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth (1962) and the oldest astronaut to fly in space (Space Shuttle 1998, age 77).

He was born 6/18/1921 and was in the Marines from 1943 to 1965. His medals were the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and 4 Service Medals (and later the Naval Aviator Astronaut Wings). He flew in combat in World War II and the Korean War.

After several years as a test pilot, he was one of the first 7 astronauts selected in 1959. On February 20, 1962, he became the third American to fly into space, and the first to orbit the Earth, completing three orbits in his Mercury capsule, the Friendship 7. He retired from NASA in 1964 at the age of 42.

He was elected to the US Senate in 1974 and served until 1999. During his final term, he became the third sitting member of Congress to fly into space, aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-95, an 8-day flight aboard Discovery in late 1998.