Senator Who Was an Astronaut
The term usually refers to John Glenn, a U.S. Marine Corps pilot who later became a U.S. senator and flew in space. He is the only person widely recognized as both a sitting senator and a NASA astronaut.
NASA Career and Spaceflight
Glenn was selected as one of NASA's Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959. On February 20, 1962, he orbited Earth aboard Friendship 7, becoming the first American to orbit the planet.
Senate Career and Later Return to Space
Glenn served as a Democratic senator from Ohio from 1974 to 1999. In 1998, at age 77, he flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist on STS-95, making him the oldest person to fly in space at that time.
