John Glenn

American hero and space pioneer, John Glenn, has passed away at 95. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth (and the 5^th in space) on February 20, 1962, only 7 months before President Kennedy's famous Moon speech. Glenn sped around the Earth three times in only a few hours, traveling over 65,000 miles. President Kennedy considered him too important of a symbol to risk losing in an accident, so Glenn had to step down from NASA, but he would later go to space again in October of 1998, while still serving as a Senator (he served in the Senate for four terms). He undertook this second spaceflight at age 77, making him the oldest person to ever fly in space—a record that still stands. Glenn was a humble man who inspired the American spirit. In a NY Times interview, he said, “What got a lot of attention, I think, was the tenuous times we thought we were living in back in the Cold War. I don’t think it was about me. All this would have happened to anyone who happened to be selected for that flight.” John Glenn has inspired us to dream, and to look forward to the future of America's endeavors in space!