Former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn is in the hospital.

  • John Glenn has been in the hospital for more than a week
  • No word on his condition or illness
  • 1st American to orbit the Earth in 1962

A spokesperson with Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs said Glenn, 95, was admitted to James Cancer Hospital and has been there for more than a week.

No word on Glenn's condition or illness.

John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 as a member of the original Mercury 7 astronaut team.

Glenn made three orbits around the planet and spent five hours in space in his Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft. His work helped pave the way for subsequent space exploration.

Glenn served in World War II and the Korean War before he became a test pilot in the 1950s.

He returned to space in 1998 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery for a nine-day mission that included a study of the aging process and spaceflight. He became the oldest person to fly in space.

Glenn also served in the U.S. Senate for his home state of Ohio from 1974 to 1999.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.