WATCH: CBS Special Report on John Glenn's death

<p>Former U.S. senator and astronaut John Glenn has died. He was 95 years old.</p><p>Glenn served as a military pilot during World War II and the Korean War, and he was one of the seven pilots selected to be in NASA&#39;s first group of astronauts.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/peggy-whitson-becomes-oldest-woman-in-space/">56-Year-Old Astronaut Becomes Oldest Woman In Space</a></b></p><p>Glenn launched into space aboard the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-lTPK5sQAA" target="_blank">Friendship 7</a>&nbsp;spacecraft on Feb. 20, 1962. He circled the Earth three times before re-entering, making him the&nbsp;<a href="http://history.nasa.gov/friendship7/" target="_blank">first American</a>&nbsp;to orbit the planet.</p><p>Glenn left the space program to pursue a career in politics as a Democrat. He was elected as a U.S. senator for Ohio in 1974, and he&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/health/john-glenn-hospitalized/" target="_blank">served until 1999</a>.</p><p>Glenn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-95.html" target="_blank">returned to space</a>&nbsp;aboard the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/space-shuttle-discovery-s-legacy-30-years-later/" target="_blank">space shuttle Discovery</a>&nbsp;in 1998. He was 77 at the time, and he holds the record for being&nbsp;<a href="http://www.space.com/17263-john-glenn-astronaut-biography.html" target="_blank">the oldest person</a>&nbsp;to travel in space.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/paris-again-bans-cars-to-fight-pollution/">Paris Bans Cars To Fight Pollution Again</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/feathers-may-have-been-a-common-trait-in-dinosaurs/">In Case You Forgot, Dinosaurs Were Actually Feathery</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/life-expectancy-in-the-us-has-decreased/">Life Expectancy In The US Has Dropped For The First Time In Decades</a></li></ul>