With his passing earlier today, John Glenn is being remembered as not only the first American to orbit the Earth, but also the oldest. On October 29, 1998, the first American to orbit the Earth made history again. [/caption] US spaceflight legend John Glenn has weighed in on the current human spaceflight debate, releasing an 8-page paper outlining his feelings and a … John Glenn became the oldest man to fly in space by serving as a payload specialist on STS-95 aboard the space shuttle …