STS-95 crewmember John Glenn poses for his official NASA photo taken April 14, 1998. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and returned to space in 1998 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
American astronaut and former Ohio senator John Glenn died Thursday at the age of 95.
Glenn was the first American astronaut with the Mercury “Friendship 7” spacecraft to orbit the globe on Feb. 20, 1962. As the fifth person ever to enter space, Glenn spent a total 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds during the inaugural space voyage and orbited the planet three times.
The former marine also served as Ohio’s Democratic U.S. senator for 24 years — from December 1974 to January 1999 — going on to become the oldest person ever, at 77, to leave earth’s atmosphere with his trip to space on Oct. 29, 1998, while he was still in office.
Glenn was receiving treatment at the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University for “more than a week,” a university spokesman told USA Today on Thursday. The spokesperson, however, did not say what Glenn was being treated for.
“John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio’s ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve,” said Ohio Governor John R. Kasich. “As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation. ”
Glenn, who is survived by his wife of 73 years, Annie Castor, 96, and two children, remained an important figure for the country throughout his life. Reflecting on his journey to space, Glenn was once quoted as saying: “If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s that the happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own self-interest."
Here are pictures depicting the astronaut and politician’s journey of 95 years:
Guenter Wendt (right), the original pad leader for NASA's manned space program, coaxes a smile out of astronaut John Glenn after the MA-6 mission was scrubbed in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. in this undated photo. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Glenn is in his Mercury flight suit in this undated NASA photo. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Glenn, pilot of the Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6) spaceflight, poses for a photo with the Mercury "Friendship 7" spacecraft during preflight activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, before he piloted the first manned orbital mission of the United States on Feb. 20, 1962.NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Glenn relaxes aboard the USS Noa after being recovered from the Atlantic near Grand Turk Island following Glenn's first orbit around the Earth on February, 20, 1962. The Noa picked him up 21 minutes after impact.NASA/Handout via REUTERS
U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Glenn and General Leighton I. Davis (right) ride together during a parade three days after Glenn's historic spacefight, in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Feb. 23, 1962.NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Ohio Senator John Glenn gives the thumbs up sign from the cockpit of his T-38 jet aircraft as he arrives at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Oct. 26, 1998.George Shelton/NASA/Handout via REUTERS
The seven STS-95 crew members pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in this 1998 NASA photo. Curtis L. Brown Jr., commander, appears at right center in the pyramid. Others, clockwise, are Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; Pedro Duque, mission specialist (ESA), payload specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai (NASDA); Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; and U.S. Senator John H. Glenn.NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Glenn waves to the cheering crowd as he rides in an open car with his wife Annie during a ticker tape parade down New York's "Canyon of Heroes" on lower Broadway in New York, Nov. 16, 1998.REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
U.S. President Barack Obama awards a 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom to the astronaut and former U.S. Senator during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo
