John Glenn, The Very First American To Orbit The Earth, Passes Away At 95

Senator John Glenn, the first American astronaut to take a full trip around the earth in a spacecraft, has passed away at the age of 95. Glenn, who took his historic orbital trip around our home planet on February 20th 1962,  left this life December 8th 2016 after being hospitalized a day earlier. A specific cause of death has not been released as of this writing.

Senator Glenn, who made a triumphant return to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998 at the at of 77, making him the oldest person to fly in space and the only astronaut to fly on both the Mercury mission and aboard the space shuttle.

Between his space flights, Senator Glenn pursued as successful political career in his home state of Ohio, where he served as a state senator from 1974 through 1999. He also served in the Marines during World War II and the Korean War as a combat pilot, then returned home and served as a test pilot in Navy and Marine aircraft. Glenn also completed the first hypersonic transcontinental flight in just 3 hours and 23 minutes.

A true American hero, Senator Glenn has earned the respect of each and every citizen. He served his country selflessly and bravely went where few have ventured. Godspeed, Senator John Glenn.