Former astronaut and ex-Ohio senator John Glenn has passed away at the age of 95. CNN’s Martin Savidge reports on the life of Glenn.
On July 16, 1957, John Glenn completed the first supersonic transcontinental flight in a Vought F8U-3P Crusader. The flight named “Project Bullet” from NAS Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, lasted 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.3 seconds, and broke a speed record. Project Bullet included both the first transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed (with three in-flight refueling operations when speeds dropped below 300 mph), and the first flight involving a continuous transcontinental panoramic photograph of the United States. Glenn received his fifth Distinguished Flying Cross for the mission.
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn climbed into his Friendship 7 capsule, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. He was the first astronaut to orbit earth, circling the earth three times in five hours. He became a national hero. Glenn was one of America’s first and most celebrated astronauts and had a long public career that included two space flights, 24 years as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and a run for the presidency. Glenn was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts.
On October 29, 1998, while John Glenn was an Ohio senator, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only astronaut to fly in both the Mercury program and the Space Shuttle program. John Glenn was 77 years-old. He flew as a Payload Specialist on Discovery mission STS-95. In 2012 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
John Glenn was also a decorated Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II and Korea.
John Glenn was born July 18, 1921.
American astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon in July 1969.
Astronaut John Glenn’s return to NASA for participation in the STS-95 mission. Includes scenes from Glenn’s days as an original seven astronaut and from his current training for STS-95. Also includes Glenn’s comments about his return to NASA.
On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) introduced America’s first astronauts to the press: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald Slayton. The seven men — all military test pilots — were carefully selected from a group of 32 candidates to take part in Project Mercury, America’s first manned space program. NASA planned to begin manned orbital flights in 1961.
John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, and a legendary figure in the American space flight program, died at age 95.
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the moon, a former U.S. Senator, and the oldest man to fly in space. We remember Glenn, an American hero, for all of his accomplishments and dedication to our country.
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
Sen. John Glenn recounts his historic first spaceflight in Mercury 7 in this 2012 video interview.