Key Takeaways:
- John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth.
- He flew combat missions in WWII and the Korean War.
- He later served as a U.S. Senator.
- At age 77, he became the oldest person in space.
Born on July 18, 1921, John Glenn grew up in Ohio and joined the Marine Corps in 1943. He flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 63 in the Korean War before being selected by NASA for the Mercury program. In 1962, he spent five hours orbiting the Earth in the Friendship 7 capsule – the first American in orbit. After retiring from NASA, he served as a senator for 25 years, and then in 1998 became the oldest person in space when he returned on a space shuttle mission at the age of 77. Glenn had lobbied for the seat on the mission after contemplating the similarities between the aging process and the physical effects astronauts saw after space travel. During the flight, Glenn supplied data on brainwaves, heart rate, and temperature, as well as urine and blood tests.
