John Glenn

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at age 77. Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, China and Korea. He shot down three MiG-15s, and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. His on-board camera took the first continuous, panoramic photograph of the United States. He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts.

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25 Years Ago: STS-95, John Glenn Returns to Space

How John Glenn's $40 Camera Forced NASA to Rethink Space Missions

What has Become of the Ticker-Tape Parade? One of the last big ticker tape parades was in November 1998 for John Glenn and the astronauts of Space Shuttle Discovery but since then the number of such parades has declined

60 Years Ago: Astronaut John Glenn, the First American to Orbit the Earth Aboard Friendship 7

John Glenn’s 1962 Orbital Flight Put NASA Back In The Space Race

Making spaceflight history: John Glenn orbited Earth 60 years ago today

Astronauts, Australian airport mark 60 years since John Glenn first orbited Earth

60 Years Ago: John Glenn, the First American to Orbit the Earth aboard Friendship 7

Wally Funk to break John Glenn's spaceflight record with Blue Origin flight

John Glenn was the first astronaut to be elected to public office, serving 25 years as a senator. He paved the way for other astronauts turned politicians, but it wasn’t easy: Glenn faced harsh criticism from the public who felt astronauts had a different, non-partisan obligation to their country.