I denna 20 februari, 2012, filfoto, USA:s senator John Glenn pratar med astronauter på den internationella rymdstationen via satellit inför en diskussion med titeln "Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future" i Columbus, Ohio. Glenn, som var den första amerikanska astronauten som kretsade runt jorden och senare ägnade 24 år åt att representera Ohio i senaten, har dött vid 95. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, Fil)
John Glenn, vars flygning 1962 som den första amerikanska astronauten som kretsade runt jorden gjorde honom till en amerikansk hjälte och drev honom till en lång karriär i USA:s senat, dog torsdag. Den sista överlevande av de ursprungliga Mercury 7 -astronauterna var 95.
Glenn dog på James Cancer Hospital i Columbus, Ohio, där han var inlagd på sjukhus i mer än en vecka, sa Hank Wilson, kommunikationsdirektör för John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
John Herschel Glenn Jr. hade två stora karriärvägar som ofta korsades:flygning och politik, och han svävade i dem båda.
Innan han fick berömmelse som kretsade runt världen, han var stridsflygare i två krig, och som testpilot, han satte ett transkontinentalt hastighetsrekord. Han tjänstgjorde senare 24 år i senaten från Ohio. Ett sällsynt bakslag var ett misslyckat lopp 1984 för den demokratiska presidentvalet.
Hans långa politiska karriär gjorde det möjligt för honom att återvända till rymden i skytteln Discovery vid 77 års ålder 1998, ett kosmiskt segervarv som han njöt av och blev till ett lärorikt ögonblick om att bli gammal. Han håller rekordet för den äldsta personen i rymden.
Mer än någonting, Glenn var den ultimata och unika amerikanska rymdhjälten:en stridsveteran med ett lätt leende, ett starkt äktenskap på 70 år och nerver av stål. Skolor, ett rymdcenter och Columbus flygplats fick sitt namn efter honom. Så var barn.
I denna 20 februari, 1962, filfoto, astronauten John Glenn sitter bredvid rymdkapseln Friendship 7 ovanpå en Atlas -raket vid Cape Canaveral, Fla., under förberedelserna för hans flygning som gjorde honom till den första amerikanen som kretsade runt jorden. Glenn, som senare tillbringade 24 år som representant för Ohio i senaten, har dött vid 95. (AP Photo/File)
Sovjetunionen sprang framåt i rymdutforskning genom att sätta Sputnik 1 -satelliten i omlopp 1957, och lanserade sedan den första mannen i rymden, kosmonauten Yuri Gagarin, i en 108-minuters orbitalflygning den 12 april, 1961. Efter två suborbitalflygningar av Alan Shepard Jr. och Gus Grissom, det var upp till Glenn att vara den första amerikanen som kretsade runt jorden.
"Godspeed, John Glenn, "astronauten Scott Carpenter radioradade precis innan Glenn dundrade av en startskiva på Cape Canaveral, nu ett nationellt historiskt landmärke, till en plats Amerika aldrig hade varit. Vid den 20 februari, 1962, flyg, Glenn var 40 år gammal.
Med all-business fras, "Uppfattat, klockan går, vi är igång, "Glenn radioade till jorden när han började sina fyra timmar, 55 minuter och 23 sekunder i rymden. År senare, han förklarade att han sa att eftersom han inte kände att han hade lyfts och det var det enda sättet han visste att han hade skjutit upp.
Under flygningen, Glenn uttalade en fras som han skulle upprepa ofta under hela livet:"Zero G, och jag mår bra. "
"Det verkar fortfarande så levande för mig, "Glenn sa i en intervju 2012 med The Associated Press på 50 -årsdagen av flygningen." Jag kan fortfarande pseudokänsla lite av samma känslor som jag hade tillbaka under dessa dagar under lanseringen och allt. "
Glenn sa att han ofta fick frågan om han var rädd, och han svarade:"Om du pratar om rädsla som övervinner det du ska göra, Nej. Du har tränat väldigt hårt för dessa flygningar. "
I denna 20 februari, 1962 foto tillgängligt av NASA, astronauten John Glenn lotsar rymdskeppet "Friendship 7" Merkurius under sin historiska flygning som den första amerikanen som kretsade runt jorden. Glenn, som senare tillbringade 24 år som representant för Ohio i senaten, har dött vid 95. (NASA via AP)
Glenns tur i den trånga Friendship 7 -kapseln hade sina läskiga stunder, dock. Sensorer visade att hans värmesköld var lös efter tre banor, och Mission Control oroade sig för att han skulle brinna upp under återinträdet när temperaturen nådde 3, 000 grader. Men värmeskölden höll.
Redan innan dess, Glenn flög i farlig himmel. Han var en jaktpilot i andra världskriget och Korea som flög lågt, fick hans plan full av kulor, flög med basebollstor Ted Williams och fick macho -smeknamn under 149 stridsuppdrag. Och som testpilot slog han flygrekord.
De grönögda, telegenic Marine vann till och med $ 25, 000 på spelshowen "Name That Tune" med en 10-årig partner. Och det var före den 6 april, 1959, när hans liv förändrades genom att bli vald som en av Mercury 7 -astronauterna och direkt började locka mer än hans andel av rampljuset.
Glenn under senare år regaled folkmassor med berättelser om NASA:s testning av blivande astronauter, från psykologiska tester-kom med 20 svar på den öppna frågan "Jag är"-till överlevande snurrning som pressade 16 gånger normal tyngdkraft mot hans kropp, poppande blodkärl.
Men det var inte alls lika illa som att komma till Cape Canaveral för att se det första obemannade raketprovet.
"Vi ser det här gå upp och upp och upp ... och det blåste genast över oss, och det var vår introduktion till Atlas, "Glenn sa 2011." Vi tittade på varandra och ville ha ett möte med ingenjörerna på morgonen. "
I denna söndag, 1 november 1998 bild från video, astronauten John Glenn, vänster, hämtar ett pappersflygplan för piloten Steven Lindsey, förgrunden till höger, i rymdfärjan Discovery sitt mellandäck. Astronauten Stephen Robinson, bakgrund till höger, och den japanska astronauten Chiaki Mukai ser över pappersarbete i bakgrunden. Glenn dog torsdag, 8 december, 2016, vid 95 års ålder. (AP Photo/NASA, Fil)
1959, Glenn skrev i Life magazine:"Rymdresor är gränsen för mitt yrke. Det kommer att åstadkommas, och jag vill vara med om det. Det finns också ett element av enkel plikt. Jag är övertygad om att jag har något att ge detta projekt. "
Den pliktkänslan ingavs redan i tidig ålder. Glenn föddes den 18 juli 1921, i Cambridge, Ohio, och växte upp i New Concord, Ohio, med smeknamnet "Bud". Han gick med i stadsbandet som trumpetare vid 10 års ålder och följde med sin far en Memorial Day i en ekande version av "Taps". I hans memoar 1999, Glenn skrev "den känslan sammanfattar min barndom. Det bildade min tro och min känsla av ansvar. Allt som kom efter det kom helt naturligt."
Hans kärlek till flyg var livslång; John Glenn Sr. talade om de många sommarkvällar han kom hem för att hitta sin son springa runt på gården med utsträckta armar, låtsas att han lotsade ett plan. Sista juni, vid en ceremoni som döpte Columbus flygplats till honom, Glenn mindes att han bad sina föräldrar att ta honom till flygplatsen för att titta på flygplan när de passerade genom staden:"Det var något jag fascinerades av." Han lotsade sitt eget privata plan fram till 90 års ålder.
Glenns mål att bli kommersiell pilot ändrades av andra världskriget. Han lämnade Muskingum College för att gå med i Naval Air Corps och strax därefter, marinisterna.
Han blev en framgångsrik jaktpilot som körde 59 farliga uppdrag, ofta som volontär eller som den begärda backupen av tilldelade piloter. Ett krig senare, i Korea, he earned the nickname "MiG-Mad Marine" (or "Old Magnet A—, " which he sometimes paraphrased as "Old Magnet Tail.")
"I was the one who went in low and got them, " Glenn said, explaining that he often landed with huge holes in the side of his aircraft because he didn't like to shoot from high altitudes.
In this Feb. 26, 1962 file photo, Mercury astronaut John Glenn, and his wife, Annie, ride in the back of an open car with Vice-President Johnson during a parade in Glenn's honor in Washington. The Capitol is seen in the background. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/File)
Glenn's public life began when he broke the transcontinental airspeed record, bursting from Los Angeles to New York City in three hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds. With his Crusader averaging 725 mph, the 1957 flight proved the jet could endure stress when pushed to maximum speeds over long distances.
In New York, he got a hero's welcome—his first tickertape parade. He got another after his flight on Friendship 7.
That mission also introduced Glenn to politics. He addressed a joint session of Congress, and dined at the White House. He became friends with President Kennedy and ally and friend of his brother Robert. The Kennedys urged him to enter politics, and after a difficult few starts he did.
Glenn spent 24 years in the U.S. Senate, representing Ohio longer than any other senator in the state's history. He announced his impending retirement in 1997, 35 years to the day after he became the first American in orbit, saying, "There is still no cure for the common birthday."
Glenn returned to space in a long-awaited second flight in 1998 aboard the space shuttle Discovery. He got to move around aboard the shuttle for far longer—nine days compared with just under five hours in 1962—as well as sleep and experiment with bubbles in weightlessness.
In a news conference from space, Glenn said, "To look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is to me impossible."
Denna fredag, 23 september, 1977 file photo, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, center, speaks to a group of Youngstown, Ohio Steelworkers on the steps of the Capitol in Washington. The group urged the government to curb steel imports and to relax pollution control requirements. Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges, Fil)
NASA tailored a series of geriatric-reaction experiments to create a scientific purpose for Glenn's mission, but there was more to it than that:a revival of the excitement of the earliest days of the space race, a public relations bonanza and the gift of a lifetime.
"America owed John Glenn a second flight, " NASA Administrator Dan Goldin said.
Glenn would later write that when he mentioned the idea of going back into space to his wife, Annie, she responded:"Over my dead body."
Glenn and his crewmates flew 3.6 million miles, compared with 75, 000 miles aboard Friendship 7.
Shortly before he ran for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination, a new generation was introduced to astronaut Glenn with the film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff." He was portrayed as the ultimate straight arrow amid a group of hard-partying astronauts.
Glenn said in 2011:"I don't think any of us cared for the movie 'The Right Stuff'; I know I didn't."
In this Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1984 file photo, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, answers questions from the press in Jackson, Miss. At left is his wife, Annie Glenn. Glenn travelled through the South seeking support for his presidential campaign. Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Tannen Maury, Fil)
Glenn was unable to capitalize on the publicity, fastän, and his poorly organized campaign was short-lived. He dropped out of the race with his campaign $2.5 million in the red—a debt that lingered even after he retired from the Senate in 1999.
He later joked that except for going into debt, humiliating his family and gaining 16 pounds, running for president was a good experience.
Glenn generally steered clear of campaigns after that, saying he didn't want to mix politics with his second space flight. He sat out the Senate race to succeed him—he was hundreds of miles above Earth on Election Day—and largely was quiet in the 2000 presidential race.
He first ran for the Senate in 1964 but left the race when he suffered a concussion after slipping in the bathroom and hitting his head on the tub.
He tried again in 1970 but was defeated in the primary by Howard Metzenbaum, who later lost the general election to Robert Taft Jr. It was the start of a complex relationship with Metzenbaum, whom he later joined in the Senate.
For the next four years, Glenn devoted his attention to business and investments that made him a multimillionaire. He had joined the board of Royal Crown Cola after the aborted 1964 campaign and was president of Royal Crown International from 1967 to 1969. In the early 1970s, he remained with Royal Crown and invested in a chain of Holiday Inns.
In this Feb. 23, 1962 file photo, astronaut John Glenn and President John F. Kennedy inspect the Friendship 7, the Mercury capsule in which Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Kennedy presented Distinguished Service medal to Glenn at Cape Canaveral, Fla. At right is Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Glenn, who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, has died at 95. (AP Photo/Vincent P. Connolly, Fil)
In 1974, Glenn ran against Metzenbaum in what turned into a bitter primary and won the election. He eventually made peace with Metzenbaum, who won election to the Senate in 1976.
Glenn set a record in 1980 by winning re-election with a 1.6 million vote margin.
He became an expert on nuclear weaponry and was the Senate's most dogged advocate of nonproliferation. He was the leading supporter of the B-1 bomber when many in Congress doubted the need for it. As chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, he turned a microscope on waste and fraud in the federal bureaucracy.
Glenn said the lowest point of his life was 1990, when he and four other senators came under scrutiny for their connections to Charles Keating, the notorious financier who eventually served prison time for his role in the costly savings and loan failure of the 1980s. The Senate Ethics Committee cleared Glenn of serious wrongdoing but said he "exercised poor judgment."
The episode was the only brush with scandal in his long public career and didn't diminish his popularity in Ohio.
Glenn joked that the only astronaut he was envious of was his fellow Ohioan:Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
In this Tuesday, May 29, 2012, filfoto, President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Freedom to former astronaut John Glenn during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Fil)
"I've been very fortunate to have a lot of great experiences in my life and I'm thankful for them, " he said in 2012.
In 1943, Glenn married his childhood sweetheart, Anna Margaret Castor. They met when they were toddlers, and when she had mumps as a teenager, he came to her house, cut a hole in her bedroom window screen, and passed her a radio to keep her company, a friend recounted.
"I don't remember the first time I told Annie I loved her, or the first time she told me, " Glenn would write in his memoir. "It was just something we both knew." He bought her a diamond engagement ring in 1942 for $125. It's never been replaced.
They had two children, Carolyn and John David.
He and his wife, Annie, split their later years between Washington and Columbus. Both served as trustees at their alma mater, Muskingum College. Glenn spent time promoting the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University, which also houses an archive of his private papers and photographs.
In this Jan. 11, 1961 file photo, Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn reaches for controls inside a Mercury capsule procedures trainer as he shows how the first U.S. astronaut will ride through space during a demonstration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Center in Langley Field, Va. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/File)
This undated photo made available by NASA shows astronaut John Glenn in his Mercury flight suit. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (NASA via AP)
In this May 14, 2015 file photo, former astronaut and senator John Glenn answers questions during an interview at the Ohio Statehouse. Glenn died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon, Fil)
In this February 1962 photo made available by NASA, astronaut John Glenn looks into a Celestial Training Device globe at the Aeromedical Laboratory at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (NASA via AP)
Denna fredag, 29 augusti, 2008 file photo, astronauts Neil Armstrong, vänster, the first man to walk on the moon, John Glenn Jr., center, the first American to orbit earth, and James Lovell, höger, commander of Apollo 13, stand at a gathering of 19 of the astronauts who call Ohio home in Cleveland. The gathering of Ohio astronauts was part of NASA's 50th Anniversary celebration. Glenn died Thursday, 8 december, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Jason Miller, Fil)
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