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Astronaut John Glenn to See Ohio Airport Named in His Honor

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Space hero John Glenn is about to get an airport named in his honor in his home state of Ohio.

In a gesture of bipartisan cooperation, Ohio’s Republican-dominated state Legislature planned Wednesday to support a bill adding the 94-year-old Democrat’s name to Port Columbus International Airport. The facility’s new name will be John Glenn Columbus International Airport.

Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and a member of NASA’s storied Mercury Seven crew. He’s the last surviving member of the Mercury 7 crew. Glenn also had piloted the first supersonic transcontinental flight in 1957.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974, serving until 1999. He returned to space in 1998, at age 77.