President-elect Donald Trump honored the first American to orbit the Earth on Thursday, a little more than an hour after Glenn’s death was announced.
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The former Ohio senator died Thursday at age 95 after a prolonged illness.
“He was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers. He will be missed.”
In his remarks, sent out via his Twitter feed, Trump hailed Glenn as an inspiration to generations of “explorers.”
“Today we lost a great pioneer of air and space in John Glenn,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s words hearkened to those of author Tom Wolfe, who introduced Glenn to a new generation of men and women with his book “The Right Stuff.”
Glenn, Wolfe wrote was "the last true national hero America has ever made."