FAST FACTS:

During the Second World War, Glenn flew 59 combat missions. During the Korean War, he flew 63 missions. On return from Korea, Glenn attended the Test Pilot School at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland. After graduation, he was project officer on a number of aircraft.

SPACE PROGRAM: Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group and selected as a Project Mercury Astronaut in April 1959. On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission from the United States. It was launched at 9:47 a.m. from Cape Canaveral's complex 14 (re-named Cape Kennedy), Florida. He completed three--orbits around the earth. He later addressed a joint session of Congress and returned to a hero's welcome in New York City-his ticker-tape parade

POLITICAL LIFE: Glenn won an Ohio Senate seat in 1974 carrying all 88 counties of Ohio. In 1992, he became the first popularly elected Senator from Ohio to win four consecutive terms.

STS-95/ John Glenn Returns to Space Discovery OV103 was launched Thursday, October 29, 1998 at 2:00 PM EST from the Kennedy Space Center. Glenn's designation on the mission was Payload Specialist 2. With this launch, he became the oldest astronaut in history.