With scott pelley. Pelley john glenn, the last of the mercury 7 astronauts, the First American to orbit the earth, died late today. He was 95. Back in 1962, america was losing the space race. The soviets had already sent a man into orbit, and just six months after that, they detonated the Worlds Largest atom bomb. So the pressure and excitement were sky high that february day shining spacesuit, compressed himself into friendship 7. School children held their breath watching black and white tvs, Grand Central terminal stopped in its tracks, eyes glued to a big screen, and president kennedy waited to exhale at the white house. 3, 2, 1, 0, ignition. Pelley minutes later, feel fine. It would be his signature catch phrase for the rest of his life, a life of many orbits, remembered now by nancy cordes. Reporter from the cosmos to capitol hill and then back again godspeed, john glenn. Reporter john glenn was an astronaut, a politician, and a patriot i had i guess you could say 47 years of fed