In 1962, the first American to orbit the Earth landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean, to be picked up by one of 24 American ships waiting across the globe for his return. John Glenn, aged 40 at the time, circled the globe approximately three times, at more than 17,000mph. After the 4 hour 56 minute journey, Glenn landed at 8.40pm GMT approximately 240 miles north-west of Puerto Rico, and was picked up by US destroyer Noa.
President Kennedy followed the mission closely, and phoned the astronaut afterwards to personally relay his congratulations. Among others sending their congratulations were the Queen and British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, at the time. The mission to orbit the Earth cost the United States an estimated £142 million overall, including the plans for further exploration. This particular mission, a manned orbital flight, took place just over 10 months after a similar flight by the USSR, where cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed only one circulation of the globe.
This flight was not the only claim to fame by John Glenn. Upon is return he went into politics, and was in fact the democrat senator for his home state of Ohio for 24 years. He was passionate about space and defense issues, and this led him to set another record in his later years. In November 1998, at the age of 77, John Glenn became the oldest man in space when he completed a nine-day mission on the space shuttle, along with six other astronauts. In recognition of his achievements, John Glenn was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2012, the highest civilian honour in the United States.
John Glenn passed away in 2016, aged 95.
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