US flags worldwide were ordered flown at half-staff on Thursday as astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, was laid to rest with military honors.

Glenn died in December 2016 at the age of 95, after a long career that included serving as a Marine fighter pilot, a NASA astronaut and a US senator.

His five-hour solo orbit around Earth in 1962 established Glenn as an American pioneer. A year earlier, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first human in space and orbited the planet.

In 1998, Glenn made history again when he returned to space at the age of 77, becoming the oldest astronaut in space.

Glenn's casket, draped in a US flag covered in plastic to protect it from pouring rain, was pulled on a horse-drawn carriage through Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington.

More than 400,000 service members, veterans and their families are buried at the nation's premier military cemetery in Virginia overlooking the US capital.

US president John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, his brother and Democratic presidential candidate -- both of them assassinated -- are among the most famous people buried there.

A Marine Corps honor guard folded the flag and presented it to his 97-year-old widow Annie.

Glenn was laid to rest on what would have been their 74th wedding anniversary.

President Donald Trump ordered all flags at government buildings in the United States and abroad to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sundown "as a mark of respect for the memory of John Glenn."

A number of astronauts, including those who perished in the space shuttle Columbia and Challenger disasters, are buried at the cemetery.

Glenn's grave is not far from those of his astronaut colleagues Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee, who were killed in a fire aboard the Apollo 1 capsule in 1967.

"Senator Glenn was more than an astronaut -- he was the hero we needed in a rapidly changing world and an icon of our American spirit," said NASA administrator Robert Lightfoot in a statement.

"We will never forget him."

Tweet

Russia, Europe, US Should Work Together on Space Exploration - German Agency
Moscow (Sputnik) Apr 06, 2017
Russia, Europe, the United States and other countries should cooperate on decoding how to proceed with international space exploration in the future, German Aerospace Center (DLR) Chairman Pascale Ehrenfreund told Sputnik. "Internationally, we are trying to achieve a vision for international space exploration," Ehrenfreund stated. "The major space powers like Russia, Japan, the US, Europe, ... read more

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only