NASA celebrates 100th birthday of 1st American to orbit the planet

WASHINGTON: The US space agency on Saturday celebrated the 100th birthday of astronaut John Glenn who changed the history of spaceflight, becoming the first American to orbit the planet. Others US astronauts had been to space but Glenn was the first to actually orbit the planet we call home. Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio on July 18, 1921.

"He also changed the language, adding a Yiddish term — glitch — to our lexicon. He wasn't by training a wordsmith like Shakespeare or a musician (who often change the way in which language is used through song) but change it he did," NASA said in a statement. He grew up in the nearby small town of New Concord with his parents, John and Clara, and his sister, Jean. He would later write that a boy could not have had a more idyllic early childhood. As the US entered World War II, newly-licensed pilot Glenn committed to serving his country by air. His military career as a fighter pilot, flight instructor, test pilot, and astronaut would span more than two decades.

He retired from active service in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Colonel in 1965, according to NASA. In 1959, Glenn was selected as one of the Mercury Seven, the first group of astronauts in newly-formed NASA Manned Space Programme. The other six astronauts were Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Donald "Deke" Slayton.

On February 20, 1962, piloting the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft, NASA astronaut Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. (IANS)

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