Premise: John Herschel Glenn Jr. ( July 18 , 1921 -- December 8 , 2016 ) was a United States Marine Corps aviator , engineer , astronaut , and United States Senator from Ohio . On February 20 , 1962 , Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission ; the first American to orbit the Earth , he was the fifth person in space . He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal , the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 , was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990 , and was the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven . In 1998 , still a sitting senator , Glenn was the oldest person to fly in space as a crew member of the Discovery space shuttle and the only person to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs .
Hypothesis: John Glenn was not an astronaut.
Label: CONTRADICTION