John Glenn: 1st American to Orbit Earth, Oldest Man in Space John Glenn: 1st American to Orbit Earth, Oldest Man in Space By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | December 8, 2015 04:45pm ET MORE Editor's note: John Glenn, a legendary NASA astronaut and American hero, died on Dec. 8, 2016 at age 95. Read our full obituary here . More coverage: America's First Spaceship: Project Mercury (Infographic) The first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn made history again when, at the age of 77, he became the oldest person to travel in space. But before he was nationally recognized as a hero, he had put his life on the line for his country many times. Born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, John Herschel Glenn Jr., was the son of John and Teresa Sproat Glenn. While playing in the high school band, he met Anna Margaret Castor, and later married her. After graduation, he attended Muskingum College, where he attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Glenn entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program. He ultimately flew 59 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II. Astronaut John Glenn photographed in space by an automatic sequence motion picture camera during his historic orbital flight on "Friendship 7" on Feb. 20, 1962. Credit: NASA After the war ended, Glenn served as an instructor for advanced flight training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He went on to fly 90 missions in Korea, downing three MiGs during the his last nine days of combat. From there, Glenn attended Test Pilot School at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland, then went on to serve as project officer on a number of aircraft. He attended classes at the University of Maryland for two and a half years while assigned to the Fighter Design Branch of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, the precursor to the Bureau of Naval Weapons. In July 1957, Glenn set a transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours 23 minutes. His was the first cross-country flight to average supersonic speed.

Glenn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross six times, as well as a number of other honors for his military service. He and his wife have two children. Beyond the sky In April 1959, Glenn was selected as a Project Mercury astronaut. He became part of the Mercury Seven group, the first astronauts selected by NASA. Glenn served as backup astronaut to the first two Americans in space, Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom. [ Project Mercury: Photos of NASA's 1st Manned Spaceflights ] At the time, the United States was in the midst of a race with the Soviet Union to reach the stars. Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man launched into space on April 12, 1961, beating Alan Shepard by less than a month. Gagarin's craft took him in a full orbit around Earth, making him the first person to circle the planet, as well. [ Infographic: 1st American in Orbit: How NASA & John Glenn Made History ] On Feb. 20, 1962, the United States showed that it had the same mettle as its competition.

Previous flights into space by Shepard and Grissom had not traveled all the way around the planet. When Glenn blasted into space aboard Mercury's Friendship 7 capsule, he orbited Earth three times over the course of almost five hours, traveling faster than 17,000 mph. [ VIDEO: This is Friendship 7: America's 50th On-Orbit Anniversary ] But his journey was not without hazards . After the first orbit, a mechanical problem with the automatic control system required Glenn take manual control of the craft. Sensors also indicated that the heat shield, which would protect the astronaut from the lethal temperatures created upon re-entry to the atmosphere, was loose. To help protect him on his return to Earth, Glenn kept the retrorocket pack, which was designed to be jettisoned, in place. Follow-up examination of the control system revealed that the indicator had been incorrect. The shield was fine, but the experience was surely harrowing. [ PHOTOS: John Glenn, First American in Orbit ] An active retirement Glenn retired from the Marine Corps in 1965 as a colonel. He worked as a business executive for a decade before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974.

The Ohio Democrat campaigned vigorously for funding for science, education, and space exploration. In 1984, he made a failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. He served as a senator until 1999. STS-95 crewmember, astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and returned to space in 1998 aboard a Space Shuttle flight. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz, Mark Sowa Despite his advancing age, Glenn was not yet finished with the space program. On Oct. 29, 1998, while still a senator, Glenn made history again when he rode the space shuttle Discovery to become the oldest space traveler. Over the course of nine days, the shuttle orbited Earth 134 times. Glenn served as payload specialist, participating in various experiments to test how his 77-year old body responded the weightless environment. The craft also carried the SPARTAN satellite to study solar wind, and hardware for an upcoming maintenance mission on the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2012, Glenn received the Presidential Medal of Freedom .

He was also on hand for the retirement of the space shuttle Discovery , though he criticized the demise of the shuttle program as delaying research. Although Glenn's second flight into space was completely different from his first, both were historic, record-setting missions. But most Americans will always remember him as the first American to orbit the Earth . —Nola Taylor Redd John Glenn to Go Back Into Orbit, at Age 77 - The New York Times The New York Times U.S. |John Glenn to Go Back Into Orbit, at Age 77 Search Continue reading the main story Correction Appended In a wonder of aeronautics and geriatrics, Senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, has won his campaign to be rocketed back into space at the age of 77, space officials and experts said today. The news that the spry, ever ebullient hero of the pioneer American space program will go back into orbit for about 10 days this fall -- after his 77th birthday in July -- was an instant source of coast-to-coast smiles of amazement today among Americans who cherish the memory of Mr. Glenn's three-orbit ride 36 years ago. In that historic flight, Mr.

Glenn's image of mid-American modesty and freckle-faced mastery of his space mission was an instant restorative for national morale badly eroded in the cold war years by the Soviet Union's alarming superiority in early space flight. In his new trip, Senator Glenn won a place aboard the Discovery shuttle flight in October in the name of partaking in experiments about space and the aging process, space experts said. Continue reading the main story The news was not officially confirmed. But space experts being briefed today by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the flight would be announced on Friday at a midday news conference confirming that Mr. Glenn would be sent into space again, this time as the oldest astronaut in history. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Although some critics have already voiced skepticism about the scientific justification for sending Mr. Glenn back into space, such criticism might not make much of an impression on people who fondly remember his pioneering mission in 1962. ''We think we have a pretty solid rationale for it,'' a senior NASA official said, noting that Mr. Glenn would attend the news conference. The agency has lined up a half-dozen space medicine experts to discuss the issues surrounding Mr. Glenn's return to orbit.

Dr. John M. Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University and a NASA adviser, said today that the agency had given the flight an unambiguous thumbs up. ''I doubt that NASA would have gone out and solicited Senator Glenn,'' Dr. Logsdon said. ''But he has been able to make a case that has convinced them that he is qualified to fly and that there are benefits to having him do so.'' Senator Glenn, looking about as lithe, sparkle-eyed and confident as he was in his first go-round as an astronaut, came out of his Capitol office briefly as the news swept the capital and a throng of reporters gathered. ''I can understand there is a great deal of interest in this matter, but today I have no comment on it,'' he said, his mood seeming closer to merriment than despair. ''I look forward to discussing this in the future.'' For the Senator, who plans to close out his political career at the end of this year, the flight would be an enormous personal coup, for he has been a one-man lobby for his return to space flight for the past two years.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story For the nation, his rocket trip will be a spiritual lark and a fresh sort of space adventure, by all the reactions of astonishment and pleasure that, initially, at least, seemed to overwhelm any expressions of concern and doubt that he can handle the flight. ''Why can't he?'' said Dr. Adrian LeBlanc, a medical physicist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. ''It did not occur to me to fly older people.'' Dr. LeBlanc, who studies how astronauts' muscle and bone react to spaceflight and sees no problem if Mr. Glenn is fit and has no serious medical problems, added, ''Age per se is probably not a contradiction.'' Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy The oldest astronaut to fly in space was Dr. Story Musgrave, who was 61 years old when he made his sixth and final journey aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1996. On that flight, from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7, Dr. Musgrave completed his flight career after being told by NASA that he would not go up again.

Before that, the oldest to fly was Vance Brand, who was 59 when he last flew in space in 1990. Mr. Glenn, an Ohio Democrat who began his Senate career in 1974, would not be the first Senator to voyage in space. Senator Jake Garn of Utah, chairman of the space committee, wangled that honor. He made 109 orbits in 1985 and became so famously space-sick that his Senate nickname upon return to the Capitol cloakroom became Barfin' Jake. Space shuttles often have a crew of six, but a seventh place can be easily added for the Senator, officials said. Mr. Glenn, who flies his own private plane between Washington and his home in Ohio, has for months been dismissing any doubts of whether he still has ''the right stuff,'' as described by Tom Wolfe in his book about the early space program. Mr. Glenn was first among the Mercury Seven, the original astronauts. ''Among the seven instant heroes,'' Mr. Wolfe wrote, ''John Glenn's light shone brightest.'' The outpouring of relief and adulation was phenomenal after his three-orbit flight on Feb.

20, 1962. The first American to orbit Earth received a Broadway parade reminiscent of the one after Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight, 35 years before. Mr. Glenn and his party attended a play that night, ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,'' and the audience rose and cheered the sight of him. The cast had rewritten dialogue lines in the play to make proud jokes about the grand Glenn space flight. It was like a royal command performance. ''I think it's great,'' Michael D. McCurry, the White House press secretary, said of the word that Mr. Glenn would be weightless once more. Asked what President Clinton thought about the idea, Mr. McCurry said, ''He has the same affection for John Glenn that most Americans do.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story The news conference is certain to face questions about the risks involved in re-launching Mr. Glenn at his age -- 15 years beyond the grounding age of some far more experienced NASA pilots. There also are questions about whether there are lingering effects from the bathroom fall that troubled Mr. Glenn's sense of balance early in his political career. Analysts are sharply divided on the move's worth.

The scientific justification of using Mr. Glenn to study aging in space has little or no merit, some say, adding that the shuttle system is too unreliable and dangerous for national joy rides. Others disagree, and some experts applaud the move for its sheer boldness. ''I wish they would not confuse the issue with all this foolishness about medical research,'' said John E. Pike, the director of space policy for the Federation of American Scientists, a private group in Washington. ''His big wish is getting fulfilled. John Glenn's first flight didn't have anything to do with science and this one doesn't either. Flying in space is about the right stuff.'' For the political groundlings the Senator will leave down here, undoubtedly there will be a guessing game as to precisely how Mr. Glenn mastered the politics at NASA and won his heart's delight. Some are already noting, for example, that the Senator has been the chief Democratic defender of President Clinton in the Republican Senate's inquiry into campaign finances. But the case for Senator Glenn's cycling back to his roots in American space history is being described in terms far beyond earthly politics. ''He sounds wonderful,'' said Dr. Robert N.

Butler, a specialist on aging at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who spoke with Mr. Glenn today. ''He sounded very clear and determined and pleased that this decision would be made, and that he would have this opportunity to go again into space. It's an amazing story.'' Correction: January 17, 1998, Saturday A caption yesterday with the continuation of an article about Senator John Glenn's plans to return to space as an astronaut misstated the date of a picture of him with a space vehicle in Washington. It was taken in 1987, not this week. Famous Astronauts Follow Us Famous Astronauts A tribute to some of the famous astronauts of the world whose remarkable achievements beyond the realms of the Earth made them immortal in human history. Advertisement By definition, an astronaut or a cosmonaut is a person trained to travel in a spacecraft beyond the limits of the Earth. If that's the case, why do people get confused between the two terms? Why is Neil Armstrong referred to as an astronaut and Yuri Gagarin as a cosmonaut? Basically, the two terms are synonymous; while the Americans call their space travelers astronauts, the Russians call their space travelers cosmonauts.

Interestingly, even the Chinese have a unique name for their astronauts -- taikonauts. On July 21, 1969, the whole world burst into euphoria. It was the day history was created -- man had set foot on the Moon. While the date -- July 20, 1969, went down in the history of space exploration as the most significant day, the first human to set foot on the lunar surface -- Neil Armstrong, became the most famous astronaut in the world. He was even voted the most popular space hero in a survey conducted by the Space Foundation in 2010. Armstrong's achievement also put the United States ahead in the much-touted Space Race, which was until then dominated by the Soviet Union with the likes of Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) and Alexey Leonov (the first person to perform an extra-vehicular activity) to its credit. Eventually, the two nations planned a joint mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Mission (1975) which then marked the end of the race for supremacy between the two.

In the first illustration, Yuri Gagarin has been depicted in the Vostok 1 capsule in course of becoming the first human in space. In the second, Alexey Leonov is depicted doing the extra-vehicular activity (EVA) outside the Voskhod 2 spacecraft while Pavel Belyayev monitors from inside. There is no questioning the fact that it was this Space Race between the USSR and the United States -- the 20th century battle for space exploration supremacy, which brought out the best in them. We didn't just achieve those space exploration milestones, but also found some of our finest astronauts during this period; the same becomes evident as you go through the list of famous astronauts of the world we have compiled below. Famous Astronauts of the World Neil Armstrong August 5, 1930 - August 25, 2012 ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Purdue University (1955) and Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California (1970) ✦ Before joining NASA: An officer in the U.S.

Navy ✦ Total Time in Space: 8 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds (2 hours and 31 minutes EVA) ✦ Claim to Fame: On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon as a part of the Apollo 11 mission of NASA's Apollo program. As he set his foot on the surface of the Moon, he said the famous line "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong was not just the first person to walk on the lunar surface, but also NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space; a feat he pulled off when he was chosen as the command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission (1966). It was on this mission that he joined pilot David Scott to perform the first ever manned docking of two spacecraft. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Neil Armstrong was decorated by as many as 17 nations for his accomplishments. Of the numerous awards he got throughout his lifetime, the major awards were the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Space Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Robert H.

Goddard Memorial Trophy. Other than the numerous institutes and astronomy facilities, Neil Armstrong also has a lunar crater and an asteroid -- the 6469 Armstrong -- named after him. Buzz Aldrin January 20, 1930 - Present ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy (1951) and the Doctorate of Science in Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1963) ✦ Before joining NASA: A fighter pilot in the United States Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 12 days, 1 hour, and 52 minutes (7 hours and 52 minutes EVA) ✦ Claim to Fame: Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. was the second person to set foot on the Moon. Very few people know that, but that doesn't make it any less of an achievement, and therefore he deserves a place in any given list of famous astronauts. Aldrin was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 11. On July 20, 1969, he stepped on the lunar surface along with Armstrong, while Collins was orbiting the Moon.

Aldrin is also closely associated with extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Working outside the Gemini 12 spacecraft for 2 hours and 6 minutes on November 13, 1966, he became the first person to successfully work in space without tiring. ✦ Awards and Legacy: For his accomplishments, Buzz Aldrin was given the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009. Earlier, in 2006, he was given the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award by the Space Foundation; the organization's highest award. Michael Collins ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy (1952) ✦ Before joining NASA: A flight test officer in the U.S. Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 11 days, 02 hours, and 04 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: Michael Collins was the command module pilot for Apollo 11 mission; the first manned landing on the Moon. While Armstrong and Aldrin were carrying out the lunar surface operations, Collins was piloting the Command/Service Module (CSM) in the lunar orbit.

In his autobiography, 'Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys' (1974), he rightly writes "this venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two." ✦ Awards and Legacy: Presidential Medal for Freedom in 1969 and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Yuri Gagarin March 9, 1934 - March 27, 1968 ✦ Education: Graduated from a trade school and took military flight training at the Orenburg Higher Air Force School. ✦ Before joining the Soviet space program: A pilot in the Soviet Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 1 hour and 48 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space as a part of the Soviet space program. When he orbited the Earth in his Vostok spacecraft, he also became the first person in the history of mankind to do so. Vostok 1, Gagarin's lone spaceflight, lasted for 108 minutes; the shortest orbital manned spaceflight till date.

✦ Awards and Legacy: Being the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin became an international hero and was honored by several countries across the world. He was given the Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honor, on April 14, 1961. The Cosmonaut Training Center was named Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 1969. An international event to commemorate space exploration milestones -- the Yuri's Night -- is named after Yuri Gagarin, and celebrated on April 12 every year. As a mark of respect, Armstrong and Aldrin left Soviet medals commemorating Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov -- the first human to die during a spaceflight -- on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. Alan B. Shepard, Jr. November 18, 1923 - July 21, 1998 ✦ Education: Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy (1944) ✦ Before joining NASA: A test pilot in the U.S.

Navy ✦ Total Time in Space: 9 days and 57 minutes (9 hours and 17 minutes in lunar surface EVA) ✦ Claim to Fame: On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the second person to travel into space. The spaceflight on which he flew, the Freedom 7, was the United States' first human spaceflight. It was originally scheduled for October 1960, but unforeseen problems resulted in the mission being delayed twice; first to March 6 and then to May 5. Meanwhile, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on April 12, 1961. If it were not for the delays, Shepard would have become the first human in space. Nevertheless, he did become the first American in space, which was also an honor in itself. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Alan Shepard did miss out on becoming the first human in space, but his achievements were rewarded. He was awarded the prestigious Congressional Space Medal of Honor (1978), NASA Distinguished Service Medals (twice; 1961 and 1971) and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center -- an air and space science center -- in Concord, New Hampshire, is named after him and Christa McAuliffe. John Glenn, Jr. ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the Muskingum College ✦ Before joining NASA: A combat aviator in the Marine Corps ✦ Total Time in Space: 9 days, 02 hours, and 39 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: John Glenn was one of the original group of seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury -- the United States' first human spaceflight program. On February 20, 1962, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth (the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission.) His flight aboard the Mercury spacecraft -- Friendship 7, lasted for 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds; in course of which he circled the planet thrice. In 1998, Glenn -- then a U.S. Senator -- was chosen for Space Shuttle Discovery mission -- the STS 95, as the Payload Specialist 2. At the age of 77, he became the oldest person to go into space.

✦ Awards and Legacy: Post Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, John Glenn became a national hero in the United States. Other than the two highest civilian awards, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he was also awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In his honor, NASA officially renamed the Lewis Research Center as the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in 1999. Gherman Titov September 11, 1935 - September 20, 2000 ✦ Education: Graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy (1968) ✦ Before joining the Soviet space program: A pilot in the Soviet Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 1 day, 01 hour, and 18 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On August 6, 1961, Gherman Titov became the first person to orbit the Earth multiple times; 17 to be precise. On this spaceflight aboard Vostok 2, Titov also became the second human to orbit the Earth after Yuri Gagarin.

Overall, he was the fourth person in space after Yuri (April 1961), Alan Shepard (May 1961), and Gus Grissom (July 1961). He was also the first person to suffer from space sickness. He also showed that it was possible to stay in space for more than a day, to work in orbit, and to sleep there. At 25, he was the youngest person in space; a record which is intact till date. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Upon his return from his maiden spaceflight, Gherman Titov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and two Orders of Lenin. He also has a crater on the far side of the Moon, the Titov crater, named after him.

Valentina Tereshkova ✦ Education: Correspondence courses from the Light Industry Technical School ✦ Before joining the Soviet space program: A textile factory assembly worker/amateur parachutist ✦ Total Time in Space: 2 days, 23 hours, and 12 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when she embarked on the Vostok 6 mission on June 16, 1963. In course of the 3 days, which she spent in space, she orbited the Earth 48 times. In her single spaceflight, she superseded the flight time of all the American astronauts who had gone in space before her. (It took another 19 years for the second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, to fly into space.) As Tereshkova was inducted in the Soviet Air Force only to facilitate her entry into the Cosmonaut Corps, she is considered the first civilian to go into space. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Among other awards, Valentina Tereshkova was decorated with the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin, and the Order For Merit to the Fatherland.

She was also honored by the United Nations with the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace. The Tereshkova crater on the far side of the Moon was named so in honor of this Soviet cosmonaut. Sally Ride May 26, 1951 - July 23, 2012 ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Physics and English (1971), Master's degree in Physics (1975), and Doctorate in Physics (1978) ✦ By occupation: A physicist ✦ Total Time in Space: 14 days, 07 hours and 46 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she embarked on NASA space shuttle mission STS-7 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. At 32, she was also the youngest American astronaut to fly into space. On her maiden flight, she became the third woman in space after Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982).

On this spaceflight, she also became the first woman to use the robot arm in space and use it to retrieve a satellite. Ride was the lone individual to be on the investigation panel for both, the Challenger accident and the Columbia disaster. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Other than the two NASA Space Flight Medals, Sally Ride has been honored with numerous awards, including the von Braun Award and the Theodore Roosevelt Award (NCAA). She was also inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. In December, 2012, NASA announced that the site where twin gravity probes hit the Moon, near the crater Goldschmidt, would be named the Sally K. Ride Impact Site.

Alexey Leonov ✦ Education: Graduated from the Chuguev Higher Air Force School ✦ Before joining Soviet space program: A fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 7 days, 00 hours, and 32 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut, Alexey Leonov became the first human to conduct an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) when he spent 12 minutes and 9 seconds outside the spacecraft as a part of the Voskhod 2 mission. Leonov was all set to become the first person from the Soviet to land on the Moon, but the project eventually got canceled. He was also a part of the first joint U.S.-Soviet space flight in 1975 -- a historical event which brought an end to the nearly two decade long Space Race between the United States and Soviet. ✦ Awards and Legacy: Alexey Leonov was showered with numerous awards by the USSR as well as several other countries of the world, including the German Democratic Republic, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Syria and the Hungarian People's Republic.

He was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union twice -- first on March 23, 1965, and then on July 22, 1975. Edward H. White, II November 14, 1930 - January 27, 1967 ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy (1952) and Master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan (1959) ✦ Before joining NASA: A test pilot in the U.S. Air Force ✦ Total Time in Space: 4 days, 01 hour, and 56 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On June 3, 1965, Ed White became the first American to walk in space when he was chosen as the pilot for the Gemini 4 mission. For the period of 21 minutes that he was outside the spacecraft, he controlled himself using the Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit (HHMU), thus becoming the first person to do so.

He was later chosen as the Senior Pilot for Apollo 1 -- the first manned mission of the Apollo program, which was scheduled for launch on February 21, 1967. That mission, however, ended in a tragedy as an accident killed Ed White along with the two other crew members Gus Grissom and Roger B. Chaffee on January 27. ✦ Awards and Legacy: For the successful completion of Gemini 4 spaceflight, Ed White was honored with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Posthumously, he was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1997. Kathryn D. Sullivan October 3, 1951 - Present ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Earth sciences from the University of California (1973) and a Doctorate in Geology from Dalhousie University (1978) ✦ Before joining NASA: An oceanography officer at the U.S. Naval Reserve ✦ Total Time in Space: 22 days, 04 hours, and 49 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: On October 11, 1984, Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to do the space walk.

Other than the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G, wherein she performed the EVA, Sullivan also embarked upon two other missions; STS-31 in April 1990 and STS-45 in March-April 1992. (STS-31 mission was the one which launched the Hubble Space Telescope into the Earth's orbit.) ✦ Awards and Legacy: In 2004, Kathryn Sullivan was awarded the Adler Planetarium Women in Space Science Award. John Young ✦ Education: Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1952) ✦ Before joining: A United States Naval Aviator ✦ Total Time in Space: 34 days, 19 hours, and 39 minutes ✦ Claim to Fame: In his 42 years of active service in NASA, John Young made six spaceflights -- the first person to do so, and went to the Moon twice. His first moon mission was the Apollo 10 in May 1969, whereby he became the first person to orbit the Moon alone.

On his second voyage in 1972 -- Apollo 16 mission -- he became the ninth person to walk on the lunar surface. What sets him apart though, is the fact that he is the only person to have piloted four different classes of spacecraft -- Gemini (1965 and 1966), Apollo CSM and Apollo Lunar Module (1969 and 1972), and Space Shuttle (1981 and 1983). ✦ Awards and Legacy: Other than the Congressional Space Medal of Honor (1981), John Young also received the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, and NASA medals, like the Navy Distinguished Service Medal with gold award star and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. James "Jim" A. Lovell, Jr. March 25, 1928 - Present Happy Birthday Happy Birthday, John Glenn! First American to Orbit Earth Turns 90 By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | July 18, 2011 11:11am ET MORE On Feb.

20, 1962, John Glenn rode the Friendship 7 capsule into space, the first time an American orbited the Earth. In this image, Glenn enters the capsule with assistance from technicians. Credit: NASA This story was updated at 2:23 p.m. ET. John Glenn, one of NASA's original seven astronauts and the first American to orbit Earth, joined another exclusive club today (July 18) — the nonagenarians. Glenn is celebrating his 90th birthday after a long and storied career as an American spaceflight icon. In 1962, he became the first American to orbit Earth, putting the United States back on even footing with the rival Soviet Union in the Cold War space race . And 36 years later, Glenn — by then a long-serving United States Senator — became the oldest person ever to fly in space, launching aboard the shuttle Discovery on its STS-95 mission in 1998. Glenn was unavailable to speak with SPACE.com on the eve of his birthday, but his legacy is cemented in American history, space experts said.

"Glenn epitomized 'the right stuff,'" said space history expert Robert Pearlman, editor of collectSPACE.com and a SPACE.com contributor. "He will always be viewed as an American hero for what he did in space." [ Photos: John Glenn's Space Legacy ] Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. in his silver Mercury spacesuit during pre-flight training activities at Cape Canaveral. On February 20, 1962 Glenn lifted off into space aboard his Mercury Atlas (MA-6) rocket and became the first American to orbit the Earth. After orbiting the Earth 3 times, Friendship 7 landed in the Atlantic Ocean 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds later, just East of Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas. Glenn and his capsule were recovered by the Navy Destroyer Noa, 21 minutes after splashdown. Credit: NASA The first American to orbit Earth John Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio, in 1921. He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1942, then joined the Marines in 1943. Glenn flew 59 combat missions during World War II, then 90 more in the Korean War.

After Korea, Glenn became a Navy test pilot. In July 1957, he set a transcontinental speed record, flying an F8U Crusader jet from Los Angeles to New York in just 3 hours and 23 minutes — the first time such a long flight had averaged supersonic speed. In 1959, NASA selected Glenn as part of its first-ever astronaut class. The so-called Mercury Seven were chosen from a pool of 508 high-flying, high-achieving military men. Two of Glenn's Mercury Seven classmates — Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom — made it to space before he did, launching in May 1961 and July 1961, respectively. But Glenn's flight of Feb. 20, 1962 was arguably a more meaningful accomplishment for the nation's fledgling human spaceflight program. This image shows the launch of Friendship 7, the first American manned orbital space flight. With astronaut John Glenn aboard, the Mercury-Atlas rocket is launched from Pad 14, February 20, 1962.

Credit: NASA Shepard and Grissom only reached suborbital space, but Glenn circled the Earth three times during his nearly five-hour mission aboard the Mercury capsule known as Friendship 7 . With Glenn's mission, NASA and the nation matched the rival Soviet Union, which had launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on an orbital flight 10 months earlier. The Soviets had led the space race since its inception. They launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957. Gagarin also became the first person to reach space (as well as the first to orbit Earth) when he blasted off on April 12, 1961. [ Giant Leaps: Top Milestones of Human Spaceflight ] "For many, John Glenn's flight represented the first time that we caught up with the Russians," Pearlman told SPACE.com. "It represented a real challenge to what was being deemed a Soviet superiority in space." Glenn returned to Earth an American hero. A ticker-tape parade in New York City celebrated the man and his mission, and President John F. Kennedy gave him the Space Congressional Medal of Honor. Streets, schools and other buildings across the country were named in his honor.

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is named for the astronaut. "John Glenn is a legend, and NASA sends him our best wishes on this major personal milestone," NASA chief Charles Bolden said in a statement today. "John's legacy and contributions to the continued progress of human spaceflight are immense. His example is one we continue to emulate as we push toward farther destinations in the solar system." A political career — and return to space Glenn left NASA in 1964, his departure possibly hastened by a real or perceived lack of future spaceflight opportunities. "There was pressure on NASA not to fly Glenn again," Pearlman said. "He was too valuable to the country" to risk losing him in an accident. So, Glenn went into business, and then politics. He represented his native Ohio as a Democrat in the United States Senate from 1974 to 1999. During his tenure, he remained a staunch supporter of NASA and the American space program, Pearlman said. Despite his career switch, Glenn wasn't quite done with spaceflight. He flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery's STS-95 mission in 1998, spending nearly nine days in space at the age of 77.

Glenn thus became the world's oldest astronaut, a distinction he still holds. [ Most Memorable Space Shuttle Missions ] Glenn's participation gave researchers the chance to investigate the effects of microgravity on the elderly. However, in some ways, he was not the ideal candidate for such a study, because he was in such good shape at the time. "The doctors told him he had the body of a 50-year-old," Pearlman said. "So while he was flying to represent senior citizens, he was flying with an atypical physical ability. He didn’t represent the everyman senior citizen; he represented the superman." NASA's space shuttle fleet is retiring this year after one final flight of the Atlantis orbiter, which is in space right now and due to land on Thursday (July 21). Last year, Glenn released a statement calling for NASA to keep flying its shuttles until an American-built replacement was ready. NASA currently plans to continue flying astronauts on Russian Soyuz capsules until privately built American spacecraft become available. "For the 'world's greatest spacefaring nation,' this is hard to accept," Glenn wrote in 2010.

Glenn also advocated that NASA commit itself to building a new heavy-lift rocket and spacecraft for future space exploration, something NASA is planning on now. The space agency is developing a new heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System to launch astronauts on deep space missions to an asteroid or elsewhere. "A heavy-lift space workhorse to someday replace the Shuttles is a necessity for our space future," Glenn wrote. "The flexibility that gives to our manned and unmanned programs will be key to the world leadership as other nations develop their manned space capabilities." The image of Glenn — an icon, a larger-than-life spaceflight trailblazer — will likely follow the man down through the years. It is how he will be remembered. "Glenn's role in history is well-defined," Pearlman said. "He was more or less the all-American hero." You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall . Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Editor's Recommendations BBC News - Space shuttle timeline Space shuttle timeline 1998 Oldest man in space 1998 ISS mission begins Test flight 12 August 1977 The space shuttle was conceived as a concept long before man had even stepped on to the Moon. Its development seemed to many the stuff of science fiction made real. The test orbiter, Enterprise, even had a name taken from the Star Trek TV series. First launch 12 April 1981 When Columbia made the inaugural launch, she was manned by astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen. Even today that seems daring - that they should climb aboard a vehicle that had not first been sent on an unmanned test mission. Spacewalk 4 April 1983 Challenger, the second shuttle, was the first to conduct a spacewalk. With two machines Nasa now had a fleet of re-usable spaceplanes. They would change the way humans would live and work in space. Large payloads could be taken into orbit - even retrieved and returned safely to Earth. Spacewoman 18 June 1983 The multi-seat shuttle meant many more people could go into space than had been the case with Nasa's earlier capsule designs.

Many non-military personnel were called up, including physicist Sally Ride - the first American woman to go into space. Untethered spacewalk 7 February 1984 Shuttle missions provided some iconic moments. Bruce McCandless hanging in space above a blue globe is surely one of the most majestic. McCandless was testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a device that enabled un-tethered spacewalks. Challenger disaster 28 January 1986 Challenger's destruction 72 seconds into its mission punctured the notion that space flight had become routine. An investigation concluded that the seal on a rocket booster had failed, leading to the shuttle's disintegration. Among the seven astronauts lost was Christa McAuliffe, who was to become the first US civilian in space. Return to flight 29 September 1988 Twice Discovery would be called upon to return the orbiters to active service following a major accident. The first return to flight mission saw astronauts wear their familiar pressurised Launch Escape, or "pumpkin", suits for the first time. Magellan launched 4 May 1989 Magellan was the first planetary mission to be launched by an orbiter.

It was despatched to Venus to make a radar map of its surface. In the years ahead the shuttle would launch a range of science probes and telescopes. Hubble telescope 24 April 1990 The shuttle would have a recurring association with the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomical facility would transform our knowledge of the cosmos, but without the regular servicing from orbiter astronauts the HST would never have lasted as long. Hubble repaired 2 December 1993 The most important of those re-visits was made by Endeavour within four years of the original launch. The shuttle carried up the equipment that would correct Hubble's flawed vision. The telescope became one of the best showcases for the shuttle. Shuttle-Mir docking 27 June 1995 Before the International Space Station there was Mir, the Russian platform. The lessons learned from the 11 orbiter flights to Mir would pave the way for the ISS and the concept of a station project operated by multiple partners. Oldest man in space 29 October 1998 John Glenn was America's first orbiting astronaut in 1962.

His flight on Discovery in 1998 made him not only the oldest person to fly in space at the age of 77, but the only one to have flown in both the Mercury and Space shuttle programmes. ISS mission begins 4 December 1998 Russia began the construction of the ISS, a $100bn (£62bn) project that would take more than 10 years to complete. Some 36 shuttle flights would follow Endeavour's delivery of the first US component - a connecting module called Unity. Columbia disaster 1 February 2003 Columbia's loss underlined once again the vulnerabilities in the shuttle transportation system's design. Insulation foam falling off the external tank on lift-off had damaged the ship's left wing. The hot gases encountered on re-entry penetrated the hole and tore Columbia apart. Beginning of the end 14 January 2004 Shuttle safety was now a pressing issue. George W Bush signalled the fleet's retirement, and suggested a replacement transport system be developed to take astronauts back to the Moon. His Constellation project would be cancelled by his successor, however.

“Start Quote Godspeed John Glenn: 50 years since first US orbit - Technology & science - Space | NBC News Godspeed John Glenn: 50 years since first US orbit America's premier spaceman reflects on a golden run Below: Related slideshows John Glenn's ascent John Herschel Glenn Jr. flew into the history books on Feb. 20, 1962, when he became the first American to go into orbit. But his trajectory to greatness was set years earlier, as a Marine Corps pilot. Glenn flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 90 combat missions in the Korean War. Here we see Glenn climbing out of the cockpit of his F-8-UI Crusader jet at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field in 1957, after making the first nonstop, supersonic flight from Los Angeles to New York. The flight was called "Project Bullet" because Glenn traveled faster than a bullet. The 3-hour, 23-minute trip set a transcontinental speed record, and put Glenn on the radar screen for selection as an astronaut a couple of years later.

(Anthony Camerano / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Getting a checkup Glenn and six other military fliers were selected in 1959 to become the first American astronauts as part of Project Mercury. NASA put the "Mercury 7" through a grueling series of medical and psychological tests. Glenn is seen here being outfitted with a biosensor during astronaut training activities at Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 1961. (NASA) Share Back to slideshow navigation The Mercury 7 The seven Mercury astronauts pose for a photo in their spacesuits in 1962. Front row, left to right, are Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. Back row, from left, are Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom and Gordon Cooper. As of 2012, only Glenn and Carpenter are still alive. (NASA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise Running man By 1962, astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom had flown on suborbital Mercury missions. Those flights set the stage for John Glenn's orbital odyssey.

Glenn took a no-nonsense, straight-arrow approach to his physical training program, including frequent runs like this one in 1962. (NASA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Related video The Right Stuff turns 50 Godspeed, John Glenn John Glenn's orbital flight was initially set for launch in January 1962, but postponements pushed it back to Feb. 20. Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule was launched atop an Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral as an estimated 60 million people watched via live television. Fellow astronaut Scott Carpenter called out to him over a radio link from the launch pad's blockhouse: "Godspeed, John Glenn!" (AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Safe landing During Friendship 7's three-orbit flight, NASA controllers saw indications that the capsule's heat shield had come loose - which could be a fatal flaw for re-entry. They told Glenn not to jettison the craft's retro-rocket pack, as an added precaution. Glenn ended up making a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, and it turned out that the apparent heat-shield problem was merely due to a sensor failure.

Here you see Glenn's capsule attached to a retrieval cable hanging down from a helicopter. The capsule released green dye into the water to help searchers find it from the air. (Rex Features via AP Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Triumph in Florida President John F. Kennedy, astronaut John Glenn and Gen. Leighton I. Davis, commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center, ride together in the back seat during a 1962 parade in Cocoa Beach, Fla., to celebrate America's first human orbital spaceflight. (NASA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise Family time Astronaut John Glenn, far right, accompanies his family onto an Air Force plane in Key West, Fla., on Feb. 26, 1962, en route to a series of celebrations after his spaceflight. From left are his wife, Annie, their daughter Lyn and their son David. John and Annie were childhood playmates and high-school sweethearts while growing up in New Concord, Ohio. They were married in 1943, just after John Glenn received his commission in the Marine Corps.

(Harold Valentine / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Ticker-tape parade Astronaut John Glenn, riding in the car seen at left, gets a huge New York welcome on March 1, 1962, during a ticker-tape parade along Broadway on the way to a City Hall ceremony. (AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Skiing with Jackie Astronaut John Glenn and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy water-ski on a tandem tow on Massachusetts' Lewis Bay, near Hyannis Port, on July 22, 1962. Glenn and his family were the weekend house guests of Jackie's brother-in-law, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. (AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Running for office NASA made it clear that John Glenn would not be going back into space anytime soon - he was just too important as a national hero. Glenn left the astronaut corps in 1964 and decided to get into politics. At a 1969 news conference in Columbus, Ohio, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator.

He lost out to fellow Democrat Howard Metzenbaum in the 1970 primary, but in 1974, Glenn prevailed and finally entered the Senate. (Gene Herrick / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Senatorial chat Sen. John Glenn confers with a fellow Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, during a 1981 hearing on the sale of an AWACS radar plane to Saudi Arabia. Glenn would serve in the Senate until 1999, while Biden would go on to become vice president in 2009. (Bob Daugherty / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Back in a spacesuit Thirty-six years after John Glenn's first orbital flight, NASA decided to give him another space shot on the shuttle Discovery in 1998, during his final months as a U.S. senator. Here you see Glenn checking the communications system on his headgear, prior to bailout training at Johnson Space Center in Texas on April 12, 1998. Jean Alexander, a NASA suit expert, waits to help him with his helmet. (NASA via Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Advertise Try a bite, Mr.

President President Bill Clinton gets a helping of a space shuttle meal from senator/astronaut John Glenn while shuttle commander Curt Brown looks on, during a tour of the space shuttle mockup at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas on April 14, 1998. (Pool via AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Zero-G and I feel fine Senator-astronaut John Glenn works on the shuttle Discovery's Advanced Organic Separation experiment after the STS-95 mission's launch on Oct. 29, 1998. Glenn was accompanied on the nine-day research flight by four other U.S. astronauts, a Spaniard and a Japanese spaceflier. The trip made Glenn the oldest human to fly in space, at the age of 77. (NASA) Share Back to slideshow navigation Back on parade Senator-astronaut John Glenn and his wife Annie, along with other members of the shuttle Discovery's crew, parade up Broadway's "Canyon of Heroes" on Nov. 16, 1998. This was the second time Glenn received a ticker-tape parade in New York. The first one came after his history-making 1962 orbital flight.

(Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images) Share Back to slideshow navigation Medal-winner At the age of 90, retired senator-astronaut John Glenn shows off his Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda on Nov. 16, 2011, flanked on the left by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and on the right by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Glenn received the medal for helping to "pave the way for the first lunar landing" in 1969. (Evan Vucci / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation Elder statesman This Jan. 25 photo shows retired Sen. John Glenn at his office in Columbus, Ohio. It's been 50 years since his milestone spaceflight in a Mercury capsule, and almost 14 years since his space shuttle flight and retirement from the Senate. "I've been very fortunate to have a lot of great experiences in my life, and I'm thankful for them," he says. (Jay LaPrete / AP) Share Back to slideshow navigation This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away.

This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away. This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Click to view the image, or use the buttons above to navigate away. Annie Glenn : snopes.com Annie Glenn Claim: Article details efforts of John Glenn's wife to overcome stuttering. true Example: [Collected via e-mail, March 2012] is the following story true? another Email chain letter but with no threat or promise, just a "Nice Story." For half a century, the world has applauded John Glenn as a heart-stirring American hero. He lifted the nation's spirits when, as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, he was blasted alone into orbit around the Earth; the enduring affection for him is so powerful that even now people find themselves misting up at the sight of his face or the sound of his voice. But for all these years, Glenn has had a hero of his own, someone who he has seen display endless courage of a different kind: Annie Glenn. They have been married for 68 years. He is 90; she turned 92 on Friday.

This weekend there has been news coverage of the 50th anniversary of Glenn's flight into orbit. We are being reminded that, half a century down the line, he remains America's unforgettable hero. He has never really bought that. Because the heroism he most cherishes is of a sort that is seldom cheered. It belongs to the person he has known longer than he has known anyone else in the world. [Rest of article here .] Origin:Most Americans are familiar with the exploits of John Glenn, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot who, as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, was transformed into a national hero after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth on 20 February 1962. Later in life he represented Ohio in the United States Senate for twenty-four years, and in 1998 he became the oldest person to go into space when he flew on a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 1998. Much less well known is John Glenn's wife, the former Annie Castor, whom Glenn had known since childhood and married when he was a 21-year-old combat pilot during World War II.

In February 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of Glenn's orbital flight prompted CNN contributor Bob Greene to pen the article referenced above about the Glenns' lengthy marriage (currently 68 years) and Annie's long battle to overcome a terrible stuttering problem which had she had struggled with since she was a little girl, an affliction she finally managed to overcome at the age of 53. Annie Glenn began speaking out publicly about her lifelong struggle with her speech impediment in the early 1980s, discussing the subject on national television and in the press, crowning her achievement by making speeches on behalf of her husband as he campaigned for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. A 1982 Los Angeles Times article on the subject of Annie Glenn's speaking out about her disability reported that: Annie Glenn is one of the country's estimated 2 million people who suffer what may be the most misunderstood disability: stuttering. Until she underwent a new form of intensive, live-in treatment three years ago at the Communications Research Institute at Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., Mrs.

Glenn could not speak well enough to call the plumber, order a meal in a restaurant or go by herself with her injured child to a hospital emergency room, much less give a campaign speech for her husband. Although she still stutters slightly and speaks haltingly, Mrs. Glenn can perform all those once impossible tasks. She even gives campaign speeches, maybe not with as much polish as other wives, but certainly with more pluck. At a private athletic club in Cleveland, 150 people attending the annual meeting of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center sat in silent attention at their dinner tables as their speaker told them something really quite remarkable. "For the first time in my life," said Annie Glenn, age 62, "I can carry on a conversation." It wasn't so long ago that Mrs. Glenn, classified as an 85% stutterer, would have found it impossible, even, to travel by airplane from Washington to Cleveland by herself unless she wrote down what she wanted for the airline employee at the ticket counter. She told the audience of such an experience and how the men wrote notes back, thinking she was deaf.

During the slow, agonizing process in which stutterers try to force out sounds, often with their hearts beating at an accelerated rate, their palms sweating, their cheeks blushing and their heads bobbing, Mrs. Glenn has been laughed at. Store clerks have reacted by pointing an index finger at the head and moving it in circles (the "crazy" sign), or by asking if she were cold when her jaw would quiver, or saying quite simply, "Lady, I haven't got all day." Sometimes Mrs. Glenn would walk away rather than continue the ordeal of shopping. Her husband had to make all the telephone calls to repairmen and friends. Her neighbors had to call the doctor when her children became ill and go to the hospital with her to talk with the doctors. Mrs. Glenn had undergone several traditional speech therapies but experienced little or no improvement until she enrolled herself for two different sessions at the Hollins Institute, most recently in September of 1978. The therapy lasts 11 hours a day for three weeks. After taking the therapy twice, Mrs. Glenn still sees a therapist twice a month at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, and she practices every day — on the telephone. She makes several calls every morning.

There is a sign next to her phone at home that says "Take a full breath, relax your throat, keep the sound moving." "She talks to her buddies all over the world," John Glenn said, pretending to resent the phone bills. "This is a dramatic, new life for her." A 1983 Associated Press article on the same subject read (in part): For 53 of her 63 years, Annie Glenn was a prisoner of her own tongue, a stutterer who tripped over eight out of every 10 words, relying on facial expressions to make a point. She disciplined her two children, she recalls, "with my eyes and my hand." Today, the wife of Ohio Sen. John Glenn has broken through a sound barrier. "Being able to talk to people is something I could never do," she says. "My life is like a dream." In numerous conversations [on the campaign trail] throughout a day that started before dawn and ended long after sunset, [the couple] talked about Mrs. Glenn's newly acquired ability to speak fluently and the impact of her lifetime of stuttering on their marriage, children and career. "John would make all my telephone calls," Mrs.

Glenn says, shooting a stern look at her husband as he reached for a third chocolate bar. "I would try to go shopping but couldn't ask the clerk what I wanted, so I would hunt and hunt. A lot of the time I'd go out of the store empty-handed because I couldn't find what I wanted." It was in 1974, after Mrs. Glenn enrolled in a speech program at Hollins College near Roanoke, Va., that her speech improved noticeably. But she didn't keep up the daily therapy sessions or return for refresher courses, and she regressed. After a second session at Hollins and a program of daily therapy, Mrs. Glenn is making speeches. "Annie was never silent to me," [Glenn] says. "But to see her at this age branch out to things she was interested in but could never participate in ..." Last updated: 08 December 2016 Originally published: 26 March 2012 sources: Thank you for writing to us! Although we receive hundreds of e-mails every day, we really and truly read them all, and your comments, suggestions, and questions are most welcome.

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Question: In 1998, who, at the age of 77 became the eldest person ever to go into space?
Answer: John Glenn