Former astronaut and American icon John Glenn died on Thursday at the age of 95 at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The reason for his death was not disclosed. Glenn, who was an aviator, an engineer and a democrat senator Ohio–was recently hospitalized for an illness at James Cancer Hospital over a week ago, but there were little details on what illness he had.

Glenn, who was one of NASA’s original seven Mercury astronauts on Friendship 7, showed the world that America was a major contender in the space race against the Soviet Union in 1962. He will be remembered as the first American to orbit the earth in the early days of space exploration.

“We’re not up there in space just to joyride around. We’re up there to do things that are of value to everybody right here on Earth,” he once said.

But the flight on Friendship 7 almost killed Glenn due to the failure of the automatic control system. He had to act quickly to see if he could fly the capsule manually, NASA reported. The system broke down at the end of the first orbit and Glenn had to shift to manual control. Working to get the problem under control, the telemetry signaled that the heat shield was loose and this would have incinerated the spacecraft once it entered earth. “I went to manual control and continued in that mode during the second and third orbits, and during re-entry. The malfunction just forced me to prove very rapidly what had been planned over a longer period of time.”

He talked about his mission and what it was like to be in space with Life magazine.

“There, spread out as far as I could see were literally thousands of tiny luminous objects that glowed in the black sky like fireflies. I was riding slowly through them, and the sensation was like walking backwards through a pasture where someone had waved a wand and made all the fireflies stop right where they were and glow steadily.”

Before entering the space program, Glenn was involved in 149 combat missions during World War II and during the Korean War. His heroics during the war were honored and he was given the Distinguished Flying Crosses. This military decoration is awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces who distinguishes “himself or herself in support of operations by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.”

There were other awards given to Glenn.

According to NASA, Glenn was awarded: The Navy Unit Commendation for service in Korea, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy’s astronaut Wings.

Glenn also became the oldest person to ever go into space at the age of 77 where he joined the STS-95 Discovery in 1998. He was also a senator at the time of the journey.

His accomplishments and love of his country made Glenn an American hero. With this, condolences flooded over social media when the news broke on Thursday. President Barack Obama said Glenn broke barriers and defended our freedoms as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II and Korea. He just had the “right stuff.”

“John always had the right stuff, inspiring generations of scientists, engineers and astronauts who will take us to Mars and beyond — not just to visit, but to stay. The last of America’s first astronauts has left us, but propelled by their example we know that our future here on Earth compels us to keep reaching for the heavens.”

Yes, Glenn is the last of the first astronauts to leave us. He will always be remembered for his bravery and for inspiring us to achieve excellence.

“The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel,” said Glenn.

Glenn will continue to be a monumental figure for all of us.

We thank you John Glenn and Godspeed!