In this February 26, 1962 file photo, Mercury astronaut John Glenn, and his wife, Annie, ride in the back of an open car with Vice-President Johnson during a parade in Glenn's honor in Washington. The Capitol is seen in the background. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (Photo by AP Photo)





This undated photo made available by NASA shows astronaut John Glenn in his Mercury flight suit. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, December 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (Photo by NASA via AP Photo)





In this February 1962 photo made available by NASA, astronaut John Glenn looks into a Celestial Training Device globe at the Aeromedical Laboratory at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Photo by NASA via AP Photo)





In this February 20, 2012, file photo, U.S. Sen. John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite before a discussion titled “Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future” in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jay LaPrete/AP Photo)





In this February 20, 1962, file photo, astronaut John Glenn sits next to the Friendship 7 space capsule atop an Atlas rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., during preparations for his flight which made him the first American to orbit the Earth. (Photo by AP Photo)





In this February 20, 1962 photo made available by NASA, astronaut John Glenn pilots the “Friendship 7” Mercury spacecraft during his historic flight as the first American to orbit the Earth. (Photo by NASA via AP Photo)





Astronaut John H. Glenn (right) with his family (l to r), wife, Annie, son and daughter, Lyn and David, board and Air Force plane in the Key West, Fla., on February 26, 1962, Boca Chica naval air base for the flight to Palm Beach where they will join President John Kennedy. From there they will fly to Washington, D.C., and a hero's welcome and parade. (Photo by AP Photo)





In this February 23, 1962 file photo, astronaut John Glenn and President John F. Kennedy inspect the Friendship 7, the Mercury capsule in which Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Kennedy presented Distinguished Service medal to Glenn at Cape Canaveral, Fla. At right is Vice President Lyndon Johnson. (Photo by Vincent P. Connolly/AP Photo)





In this January 11, 1961 file photo, Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn reaches for controls inside a Mercury capsule procedures trainer as he shows how the first U.S. astronaut will ride through space during a demonstration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Center in Langley Field, Va. (Photo by AP Photo)





In this Tuesday, January 18, 1984 file photo, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, answers questions from the press in Jackson, Miss. At left is his wife, Annie Glenn. Glenn travelled through the South seeking support for his presidential campaign. (Photo by Tannen Maury/AP Photo)





This picture shows the Atlas rocket and the newly-named Mercury spacecraft called Friendship 7 blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 20, 1962, carrying Col. John Glenn, Jr., as the first American to orbit the earth. Astronaut Glenn orbited three times around the globe at 17,400 miles an hour. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)





In this January 2, 1962 file picture, astronaut John Glenn climbs into the “Friendship 7” Mercury capsule at Cape Canaveral, Fla. First moonwalker Neil Armstrong, first American in orbit Glenn, Mission Control founder Chris Kraft, Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, first shuttle pilot Robert Crippen and others are pushing for a last minute reprieve for the about-to-be-retired space shuttle fleet. (Photo by AP Photo)





Astronaut John Glenn is driven from Bowling Green in lower Manhattan, New York City, as his parade moves along, March 1, 1962. Photographers, newsmen and police escort the Glenn motorcade along the route toward City Hall. (Photo by AP Photo)





President John F. Kennedy (left), John Glenn (center) and General Leighton I. Davis (right) ride together in the back seat during a parade in Cocoa Beach, Florida after Glenn piloted the country's first human orbital spaceflight. (Photo by AP Photo)





Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. shown with his wife, Annie outside their Arlington, Va., home on February 3, 1962, during his first news conference. Glenn spent more than five hours in the Mercury capsule atop a rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida a week ago only to have the shot postponed. Glenn said he is anxious to get ahead with is orbit of the earth. (Photo by Bob Schutz/AP Photo)





Marine pilot Maj. John H. Glenn Jr. prepares to step down from the F8UI Crusader at Floyd Bennet Field on July 16, 1957 after making the first non-stop supersonic flight from Los Angeles to New York. Glenn landed 3 hours, 23 minutes, 8.4 seconds after departure from Los Alamitos Naval air station in Ca., breaking the previous record set in 1955 by an F84F. (Photo by Anthony CameranoAP Photo)





STS-95 mission Commander Curtis Brown (L) and Payload Specialist John Glenn conduct a news conference on the aft flight deck of the Space Shuttle Discovery in this NASA handout image dated November 1, 1998. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Former astronaut John Glenn shows the interior of his “Friendship 7” Mercury spacecraft to wife Annie at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, U.S. on February 20, 2002. Exactly 40 years ago, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in this spacecraft. Glenn is one of America's seven original astronauts. Located in the “Milestones of Flight” gallery, the capsule is one of the museum's most popular attractions. (Photo by Gregg Newton/Reuters)





Ohio Senator John Glenn tours the flight deck of the shuttle Columbia at Kennedy Space Center in this NASA handout photo dated January 21, 1998. Glenn will be a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-95 mission. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





STS-95 crewmember, astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn poses for his official NASA photo taken April 14, 1998. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and returned to space in 1998 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., is pictured during the Mercury-Atlas 6 spaceflight becoming the first American to orbit Earth, February 20, 1962, in this handout photo taken by a camera onboard the spacecraft, provided by NASA. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) space flight, enters the Mercury “Friendship 7” spacecraft during the MA-6 pre-launch preparations to begin his historic flight to become the first American to orbit the Earth at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 in Florida, U.S. on February 20, 1962. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





NASA's first astronaut class, the Mercury 7 pose for a group picture in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. on April 9, 1959. Front row L-R: Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, John H. Glenn, Jr., and M. Scott Carpenter; Back row L-R, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





NASA Project Mercury Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. poses for a portrait after April 1959 selection as a member of the first group of astronauts, the "Mercury Seven" in this undated NASA photo. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., the first American to orbit the Earth in a Project Mercury Spacecraft, poses for an official portrait in December 1962. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Astronaut John Glenn relaxes aboard the USS Noa after being recovered from the Atlantic near Grand Turk Island following Glenn's first orbit around the Earth on February, 20, 1962. The Noa picked him up 21 minutes after impact. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., wearing a Mercury pressure suit, is photographed during preflight training activities for the Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) mission at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. in February 1962. Glenn made America's first manned Earth-orbital spaceflight on February 20, 1962. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Guenter Wendt (R), the original pad leader for NASA's manned space program, coaxes a smile out of astronaut John Glenn after the MA-6 mission was scrubbed in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. in this undated photo. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)





Five astronauts based at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and two payload specialists take a break from their training schedule to pose for the Sts-95 pre-flight portrait. Seated Are Astronauts Curtis L. Brown Jr. (Right), Mission Commander; And Steven W. Lindsey, Pilot. Standing, From The Left, Are Scott F. Parazynski And Stephen K. Robinson, Both Mission Specialists; Chiaki Mukai, Payload Specialist Representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (Nasda); Pedro Duque, Mission Specialist Representing The European Space Agency (Esa); And U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., Payload Specialist. The Seven Are Scheduled To Be Launched Into Earth Orbit Aboard The Space Shuttle Discovery In Late October Of This Year. (Photo By Nasa/Getty Images)