--- title: John Glenn Dies: The Story of How He Became an Astronaut description: The history-making pilot, astronaut and Senator has died at 95. This is the story of how he first got to space, as told in 1962. canonical: https://time.com/4594546/john-glenn-astronaut-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-08T20:43:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:15.768Z article:section: History og:title: John Glenn Dies: The Story of How He Became an Astronaut og:description: The history-making pilot, astronaut and Senator has died at 95 og:url: https://time.com/4594546/john-glenn-astronaut-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26e99e0727f3b365/6988b2390b72e3a2756ebfcd/1101620302_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 400 og:image:height: 225 og:image:alt: March 2, 1962 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Glenn Dies: The Story of How He Became an Astronaut twitter:description: The history-making pilot, astronaut and Senator has died at 95 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26e99e0727f3b365/6988b2390b72e3a2756ebfcd/1101620302_400.jpg?branch=production&width=400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How John Glenn Became an Astronaut, as Told in 1962 > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 8, 2016 8:43 PM UTC  The March 2, 1962, cover of TIME The March 2, 1962, cover of TIMECover Credit: BORIS ARTZYBASHEFF  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Dec 8, 2016 8:43 PM UTC Astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and the third in space, [died Thursday.](http://time.com/4594658/john-glenn-dead/) A former U.S. Senator from Ohio, he was 95. Glenn landed on the cover of the [March 2, 1962, issue of TIME](http://time.com/vault/issue/1962-03-02/page/1/) after circling the globe three times in 4 hours and 56 minutes—at speeds of more than [17,000 mph](https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/mercury%5Fmission.html)—on Feb. 20, 1962\. The achievement came 10 months after Soviet Cosmonaut [Yuri Gagarin](https://www.nasa.gov/mission%5Fpages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin%5Fanniversary.html) became the first human in space and made one full orbit around Earth (April 12, 1961) and nine months after Alan Shepard became the first American in space (May 5, 1961), followed by Gus Grissom (July 21, 1961). Thus, his mission was a critical step in the American mission to win the Cold War in space by fulfilling [President John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s commitment](https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/xzw1gaeeTES6khED14P1Iw.aspx) to “achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) TIME launched its profile of Glenn by pointing out that the grandeur of the undertaking was quite matched by the affect of the man: “In his flight across the heavens, John Glenn was a latter-day Apollo, flashing through the unknown, sending his cool observations and random comments to the earth in radio thunderbolts, acting as though orbiting the earth were his everyday occupation. Back on earth, Glenn seemed to be quite a different fellow—an enormously appealing man, to be sure, but as normal as blueberry pie.” The Ohio native’s life had indeed started out in complete normalcy: he spent his time playing football and basketball, and reading Buck Rogers. He later joined the Marine Corps, becoming a decorated test pilot and a combat flyer, earning the rank of colonel. ([Ted Williams](http://baseballhall.org/hof/williams-ted), the legendary Red Sox left fielder who was also a Marine pilot, told TIME, “The man is crazy,” referring to the way he apparently liked to show off his flying skill in dangerous stunts.) But, though his achievements as a pilot were notable, as a career it was still within the range of ordinary. So how did he get to be an astronaut? TIME explained: --- > “” --- In terms of what it felt like to be in space, he reported “no ill effects at all” from zero gravity and described weightlessness as “something you could get addicted to.” It was also “hot” inside the _Friendship 7_ capsule at times; at one point, the temperature hit 108º in the cabin. He saw four “beautiful” sunsets and said nightfall in space is akin to nightfall in the desert “on a very clear, brilliant night when there’s no moon and the stars just seem to jump out at you.” ### John Glenn: Rare and Classic Photos From an American Life  John Glenn, Project Mercury astronaut, 1959. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Wally Schirra, John Glenn, and the rest of the Mercury 7 astronauts examine samples of cockpit glass during training, 1959. Hank Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. The original Mercury 7 astronauts (from left: Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter -- the man who spoke the famous and moving words, "Godspeed, John Glenn," during the countdown before Glenn's 1962 orbital flight -- Alan Shepard, and Wally Schirra) inspect an early design of a space program module. Hank Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn does his astronauts' homework, Florida, 1959. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn, Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard with their families, Cape Canaveral, 1961. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Glenn, Grissom, Shepard, and Schirra relax during a photo call in the midst of Project Mercury training, 1962. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn in training on the beach, Florida, 1961. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn eats a meal, surrounded by media, prior to his historic February 1962 orbital flight. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Lt. Col. John Glenn walks to his spacecraft, Friendship 7, on a training exercise prior to his February 1962 orbital flight. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. President Kennedy greets Lt. Col. John Glenn three days after Glenn orbited Earth three times in the Mercury capsule, Friendship 7, Florida, February 1962. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  John Glenn, his daughter Lyn (left), wife Annie, son David, and Vice President Lyndon Johnson at Cape Canaveral, February 22, 1962, two days after his historic orbital flight and the day before he received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal from President Kennedy. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn with cosmonaut German Titov (center) at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, 1962. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A sign honoring John Glenn outside Cape Canveral's famous "Hangar S," where Mercury astronauts suited up prior to flights, February 1962. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. A photo by LIFE's Billy Ray of Lt. Col. John Glenn flying a jet while stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, southern California, 1964. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn's wife, Annie, photographed at home in Ohio in January 1964. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John Glenn announces his candidacy for United States Senate, Columbus, Ohio, 1964. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Signed photographs of senatorial candidate John Glenn, Ohio, 1964. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. John and Annie Glenn campaign in Ohio, 1964. Ralph Morse—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Colonel John Glenn and an unidentified young girl, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Colonel John Glenn, Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, in southern California, 1964 Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. USMC Colonel John Glenn, 1964. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images While TIME declared, “Not since Lindy had the U.S. had such a hero”—referring to Charles Lindbergh, who accomplished the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean—Glenn tried to emphasize at a press conference following his splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean that spaceflight still had a long way to go: “If you think of the enormity of space, it makes our efforts seem puny. But these are all step-by-step functions we go through. The manned flights we’ve had to date have added information. This flight, I hope, added a bit more. And there are more to come.” **_Read the full cover story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Spaceman Glenn](http://time.com/vault/issue/1962-03-02/page/1/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4594546/john-glenn-astronaut-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4594546/john-glenn-astronaut-history/"},"headline":"How John Glenn Became an Astronaut, as Told in 1962","datePublished":"2016-12-08T20:43:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:15.768Z","description":"The history-making pilot, astronaut and Senator has died at 95","url":"https://time.com/4594546/john-glenn-astronaut-history/","keywords":["remembrance","Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26e99e0727f3b365/6988b2390b72e3a2756ebfcd/1101620302_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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