Things We Saw Today: Former Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn Has Died

In grand 2016 fashion, another legend has died. John Glenn, a former Ohio senator and the first American to orbit the Earth, passed away today at the age of 95. On February 20, 1962, he became a national hero when he orbited the planet in a tiny capsule called the Friendship 7. He also became the oldest person in space when, at 77 years old, he served a a payload specialist aboard the shuttle Discovery on October 29, 1998. According to the NPR, he also flew 59 combat missions in the South Pacific during World War II and served four six-year terms int he U.S. Senate as a representative from Ohio.

“Senator Glenn’s legacy is one of risk and accomplishment, of history created and duty to country carried out under great pressure with the whole world watching. The entire NASA Family will be forever grateful for his outstanding service, commitment and friendship,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. President Barack Obama also spoke out on Glenn, saying that his trailblazing legacy reminds us that “with courage and a spirit of discovery there’s no limit to the heights we can reach together.” (via NPR)

• Bad Robot’s God Particle, which was supposed to come out in February of next year, has been removed from Paramount’s schedule. On the plus side, they’re releasing a new Cloverfield film on October 27. Make of that what you will.  (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Having a hard time finding films on celluloid? There’s an app for that. Kodak’s Reel Films makes it easy to find a screening near you.  (Indiewire)
• Things are not looking well in the trailer for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’s season finale. (via BBC America)
• This retail savings guide for people with disabilities might be a real life saver. (via Coupon Chief)
• If you’re among those who thought there was too much CGI in Jurassic World, you might enjoy this little update on the sequel. Director J.A. Bayona reportedly plans to add more animatronics into the mix. “It’s complicated because the audience now is so used to seeing CGI that they’re sometimes reluctant toward animatronics,” he said. “But at the same time, I think animatronics bring soul and reality to it. We’re trying to find the balance between animatronics and CGI in order to cheat the audience so they don’t know what they’re seeing.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s it on our end. What did you all see?

(image via screencap)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.