USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文双语Français
World
Home / World / Americas

First American in orbit John Glenn dies

Xinhua | Updated: 2016-12-09 06:02

First American in orbit John Glenn dies

STS-95 crewmember, astronaut and US Senator John Glenn poses for his official NASA photo taken April 14, 1998. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON -- John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, has died. He was 95.

US space agency NASA said Glenn died Thursday at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth," NASA tweeted.

"A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra."

Glenn, born in Ohio in 1921, became the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth person in space in 1962.

"His flight on Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union," NASA said in a profile. "It also made Glenn an instant hero."

After Glenn left NASA, he served four terms as a U.S. senator from the state of Ohio.

In 1998, 77-year-old Glenn got to fly to space again. He flew with six other astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery to become the oldest person to fly in space.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US