John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, has died

JohnGlenn_feature

2016 came in like a lion and is clearly determined to go out like a total sack of crap: John Glenn has died.

Glenn wore many hats during his time on and around our pale blue dot: test pilot, veteran, spaceman, and senator. As a young man, Glenn flew combat sorties in World War II and Korea. He was courageous and confident, skilled without becoming a showboat. Those credentials, coupled with his studies in engineering at OSU, were what qualified him for NASA’s nascent astronaut training program in 1958. The New York Times says that in his zeal to go to space, Glenn actually sat with stacks of heavy books atop his head, compressing his height down to make sure he’d come in under the maximum 5’11” height for an astronaut.

Glenn's official military portrait

Glenn’s official military portrait

John Glenn was a brave man, and no stranger to literal and figurative moonshots. He jockeyed hard to be the first man in space, but had to wait as Alan Sheppard took the accolade. Glenn was backup pilot to Sheppard and Gus Grissom on the Freedom 7 and Liberty Bell 7, respectively. In 1961, Glenn took flight with the Mercury program on Friendship 7, making three orbits around Earth before coming home successfully. Upon splashdown, Glenn radioed in, “My condition is good, but that was a real fireball, boy.”

When Glenn came back to Earth for keeps, after he left NASA, he entered politics and a successful, “squeaky-clean” 24-year tenure in the Senate. He even ran for President on the Democratic ticket in 1982 — but he wasn’t enough of a career politician, and it never took off. Even engaged in such earthly affairs, Glenn never took his eyes from the skies. Glenn remained a respected Senate adviser on matters of aerospace and defense, and he became a household name. He maintained an active pilot’s license almost until the end, and only sold his plane once it finally got too hard on his and his wife’s knees to climb over the wing to get in the cockpit.

Having been to space once as a young man, Glenn’s own life history offered a unique opportunity for studying how space travel can affect the aging body. In 1998, after years of badgering NASA and the federal administration, John Glenn went back to space, ostensibly to bring back some information for science. Clearly this had nothing to do with, you know, wanting to go back into space before he died. Bristling with medical leads and measuring devices, Glenn spent nine days aboard Discovery as the oldest person to fly in space. Seventy-seven years old and floating around in microgravity; not bad.

John Glenn's EKG, 20 Feb 1962, taken after orbit

John Glenn’s EKG reading, taken during his post-orbit debrief, 20 Feb 1962

Glenn is survived by his widow, Annna Margaret “Annie” Glenn, his kids and grandkids, and his legacy in research and aerospace. The NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland was renamed to the John H. Glenn Research Center to celebrate Glenn’s achievements.

If you’re driving on I-480 near Cleveland today, tip your hat to the man. Godspeed, John Glenn.

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