COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 8 (UPI) — Former U.S. senator and NASA astronaut John Glenn died Thursday at the age of 95.
Glenn had been hospitalized for several days at the James Cancer Hospital at the Ohio State University.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Thursday made a statement:
“John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio’s ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve,” Kasich said. “As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation.
“Though he soared deep into space and to the heights of Capitol Hill, his heart never strayed from his steadfast Ohio roots. Godspeed, John Glenn!”
Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on the Friendship 7 spacecraft in 1962 — being sent off with the famous phrase, “Godspeed John Glenn” — and the fifth human being in space. In 1998, he became the oldest person to fly in space as a payload specialist on Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-95.
After concluding his NASA career, Glenn was elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Ohio in 1974 and served four terms before leaving office in 1999. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the White House’s highest civilian honor — in 2012.
