First American to orbit the Earth John Glenn dies aged 95

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and one of the US's first astronauts, has died aged 95. The former fighter pilot and test pilot was at the vanguard of NASA's space programme when it sent him into space on the third manned Mercury mission in February 1962. The combination of Mercury capsule and Atlas launch vehicle had only been successfully launched three times before his mission but had exploded in mid air just ten months before Mr Glenn's flight.