John Glenn, first American to Orbit Earth passes away
Former US aviator, astronaut John Glenn passed away in Columbus, Ohio, US. He was 95. He last surviving member of the Mercury Seven Mission.
He was first American to orbit Earth and had circled three times earth in 1962 aboard Friendship 7 space capsule.
His achievement marked the moment in US space history as during that time it was caught up with the Soviet Union in manned space exploration.
About John Glenn
- Born as John Herschel Glenn Jr. on July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio, US.
- Before gaining fame of orbiting world, he was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II and Korean war. Later he joined America’s space agency NASA.
- He had joined Mercury 7, America’s first class of astronauts after setting the transcontinental flight speed record as a test pilot.
- On February 20, 1962, he flew the Friendship 7 mission and became the first American to orbit the Earth and the fifth person in space
- After returning to Earth, he was elected in 1974 as a Democrat to the US Senate, where he served for 24 years i.e. till 1999. In 1984, he failed to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
- In 1998 – 36 years after his historic flight he became the oldest man to travel to space, at age 77.
- Awards and Honours: Inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990. He was awarded NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Congressional Space Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012).
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Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016