Remembering Space Pioneer John Glenn: 1921-2016

[dramatic music]

[Scott] Godspeed, John Glenn.

[Narrator] We've lost a space legend.

Astronaut John Glenn has died at the age of 95.

In 1962, Glenn became the first American to enter orbit,

firing into the fringes of space

aboard the Friendship 7 craft.

[John] Zero-G and I feel fine.

Capsule is turning around.

Oh, that view is tremendous.

[Narrator] He spent five hours up there,

traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour,

before splashing down safely in the ocean.

At the height of the Cold War and the Space Race,

the feat made Glenn an American hero

and laid the groundwork for sending Americans to the moon.

President John F. Kennedy decided Glenn was so important

that he refused to assign him any more missions.

Not one for desk duty, Glenn left NASA

and got into politics, serving as a U.S. senator

for two decades.

[fire roaring]

[Woman] Five, four.

[Narrator] Also not one for staying put on earth,

in 1998, Glenn convinced NASA to fire him back into orbit,

this time aboard the space shuttle.

[Woman] Three, two, one.

[Narrator] That made him the oldest person ever

to go to space.

He spent another 200 hours up there.

In space time, that's 134 sunsets and sunrises.

And once again, he returned safely to earth.

Glenn was a champion of the human endeavor

and his impacts on the exploration of space

were immeasurable.

So Godspeed, John Glenn.

Godspeed.