John Glenn the oldest human to touch the stars." NASA administrator Charles Bolden said: "Senator Glenn's legacy is one of risk and accomplishment, of history created and duty to country carried out under great pressure with the whole world watching". John Glenn Colonel John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio. Before joining
John Glenn offer, and that Zwicharowski's actions were improper. No administrative action was taken as he had retired. President Barack Obama said that John Glenn, "the first American to orbit the Earth, reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there's no limit to the heights we can reach together". Tributes were also paid by President-elect Donald Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The phrase "Godspeed, John Glenn", which fellow Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter used to hail Glenn's launch into space, became his social-media hashtag: #GodspeedJohnGlenn. Former and current astronauts added tributes; so did NASA Administrator and former