The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Astronaut John Glenn, first US man to orbit Earth
President Obama says US has lost an ‘icon’ following death of 95-year-old
President Barack Obama led the tributes to John Glenn, the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth, who died yesterday at the age of 95.
Glenn was the last survivor of the Mercury 7 astronauts.
He died at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he had been in hospital for more than a week.
John Herschel Glenn Jr had two major career paths that often intersected: flying and politics.
He was a fighter pilot in both the Second World War and the Korean War. As a test pilot, he set a transcontinental speed record.
Glenn then joined the astronaut corps and, at the height of the Cold War, became the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth.
He later served 24 years in the Senate from Ohio and ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1984.
His long political career enabled him to return to space in the shuttle Discovery at age 77 in 1998, a cosmic victory lap that he relished and turned into a teachable moment about growing old. He holds the record for the oldest person in space.
In a statement, President Obama said the US had “lost an icon”.
“When John Glenn blasted off from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas rocket in 1962, he lifted the hopes of a nation,” he said.
“And when his Friendship 7 spacecraft splashed down a few hours later, the first American to orbit the Earth reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there’s no limits to the heights we can reach together.
“With John’s passing, our nation has lost an icon. John always had the right stuff, inspiring generations of scientists, engineers and astronauts who will take us to Mars and beyond – not just to visit, but to stay.”
With John’s pAssing, our nAtion hAs lost An iCon