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29.10.

1998: Oldest Astronaut Launched into Space (77-year-old former Senator John Glenn)

1998: Oldest Astronaut Launched into Space (77-year-old former Senator John Glenn)
Photo Credit To http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JohnGlenn.jpg

Story Highlights

  • historical event:
  • John Glenn was one of the most successful astronauts in history. In his youth, he served as a marine and fighter pilot (he shot down three enemy MiG-15s during the Korean War). He was allegedly a family friend of the Kennedys.

The oldest astronaut in history was sent into space on this day in 1998. It was 77-year-old John Glenn, who had previously already become a famous American astronaut. Namely, he had first gone into space in 1962, within the frame of Project Mercury. In fact, John Glenn was the first American who performed an orbital flight around the Earth, and was the third American astronaut in space in general, preceded only by Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom.



John Glenn was one of the most successful astronauts in history. In his youth, he served as a marine and fighter pilot (he shot down three enemy MiG-15s during the Korean War). He was chosen as one of the first seven American astronauts, the famed “Mercury Seven”. He became famous, especially after he performed his space flight in 1962. He was allegedly a family friend of the Kennedys. As a member of the Democratic Party, he became a U.S. senator. He then became a candidate for the U.S. vice president at the 1976 elections.

Glenn performed his flight on this day, a full 36 years after his first space flight, a time still unsurpassed by any other astronaut in history. The flight was performed above the space shuttle Discovery. Glenn and the other seven crew members spent almost nine days in space.

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