Katherine Johnson on John Glenn: ‘A good man has left Earth for the last time’

Staff / Orlando Sentinel file

Astronaut John Glenn shaves in this file photo from 1963. Glenn died Wednesday, December 8, 2016 at the age of 95.

The Associated Press file

Astronaut John Glenn suits up prior to his mission of orbiting around the Earth, on Feb. 20, 1962 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA has decided to let John Glenn, who was the first to orbit the Earth, return to space, officials familiar with the decision said Thursday, Jan. 15, 1998.

Ron Edmonds, The Associated Press

Alongside a photo of his earlier space mission, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, gestures during a news conference at NASA headquarters in Washington Friday, Jan. 16, 1998, where it was announced that NASA would rocket Glenn, 76, back into space. Glenn, who became the first American to orit the Earth 36 years ago, is tentatively set to fly on the shuttle Discovery in October.

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Senator John Glenn controls a small armored personnel carrier during training, Wed. 10/7. Fire Training officer Capt. George Hoggard, (left front) trained the 7 member crew how to drive the M1-113 carrier. ORG XMIT: 9807444SLF Red Huber/Staff Photographer

NASA TV via The Associated Press

Astronaut John Glenn, far left, retrieves a paper airplane for pilot Steven Lindsey, front right, in this televised view from Discovery's middeck Sunday, Nov. 1, 1998. Astronaut Stephen Robinson, left, and Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai look over paper work in the background.

Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel

Space shuttle Discovery, carrying astronaut John Glenn, lifts off from launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel

In front of a the original launch console and tracking map, Mercury astronauts John Glenn,left, and Scott Carpenter are at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex Friday, February 17, 2012 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first orbital flight by an American astronaut.

Anonymous / AP

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 1961 file photo, Marine Lt. Col. John Glenn reaches for controls inside a Mercury capsule procedures trainer as he shows how the first U.S. astronaut will ride through space during a demonstration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Center in Langley Field, Va. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/File)

HO / AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) This undated file photo shows US astronaut John Glenn (L) being helped into the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 during training for his Feburary 20, 1962, space flight. Glenn, who made history twice as the first American to orbit the Earth and the first senior citizen to venture into space, has died at the age of 95, the Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs said on December 8, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NASA / HOHO/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

Joe Fudge / Daily Press

Photos taken outside Hampton Air Power Park and the John Glenn Bridge over New Market Creek.

File / Orlando Sentinel file

John Glenn, seated in the wheelbarrow, in this undated photo.

Ed Sackett, Orlando Sentinel

John Glenn and his wife, Annie, arrive at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday, February 4, 2003, for a memorial service to the fallen crew of shuttle Columbia.

Judy Tracy Watson / Orlando Sentinel file

John Glenn at the Lake Buena Vista Place Hotel on May 28, 1983.

Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, right and former astronaut and senator John Glenn walk past a replica of the Mercury Atlas rocket that took Glenn into space, during Kerry's campaign stop at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, near Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday, July 26, 2004.

Tom Benitez, Orlando Sentinel

People gather on Tavares rooftops to watch the launch of space shuttle Discovery with John Glenn on board.

File / Orlando Sentinel file

Astronaut John Glenn shaves in this file photo from 1963. Glenn died Wednesday, December 8, 2016 at the age of 95.

Terry Renna, The Associated Press

Space shuttle Discovery astronauts gather at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, Nov. 8, 1998. The astronauts completed their nine-day mission on Saturday and will fly back to Houston on Sunday to begin analyzing data from the experiments they had on board. From left: astronaut Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson, Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai, shuttle pilot Steven Lindsey and his daughter Jill, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, commander Curtis Brown and Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque.

AP

In this February 1962 photo made available by NASA, astronaut John Glenn looks into a Celestial Training Device globe at the Aeromedical Laboratory at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (NASA via AP)

Staff / Orlando Sentinel file

Astronaut John Glenn is featured in February 1972.

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Students from Aragua, Venezuela, sign a commemorative mural for astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Tuesday. Red Huber/Staff Photographer

Associated Press

Charles Dharapak / AP

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 29, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Freedom to former astronaut John Glenn during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Vincent P. Connolly / AP

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 1962 file photo, astronaut John Glenn and President John F. Kennedy inspect the Friendship 7, the Mercury capsule in which Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Kennedy presented Distinguished Service medal to Glenn at Cape Canaveral, Fla. At right is Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Glenn, who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, has died at 95. (AP Photo/Vincent P. Connolly, File)

Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel

2004 FILE PHOTO - Former astronaut and senator John Glenn, with then-presidential candidate John Kerry, walks past a replica of the Mercury Atlas rocket that took Glenn into space, during Kerry's campaign stop at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, near Cape Canaveral, Monday, July 26, 2004. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel

Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from launch pad 39B carrying astronaut John Glenn back into space.

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Kennedy Space Center - Sen. John Glenn hugs Chiaki Mukai of Japan, another crew member of the historic Discovery shuttle launch during a press conference on Oct. 8 at Kennedy Space Center. ORG XMIT: 9807462SLF Red Huber/Staff Photographer

Tannen Maury / AP

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1984 file photo, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, answers questions from the press in Jackson, Miss. At left is his wife, Annie Glenn. Glenn travelled through the South seeking support for his presidential campaign. Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Tannen Maury, File)

Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Evening Star front page from February 20, 1962, featuring a lead story that John Glenn has become the first American in orbit.

Nancy Brigham, Special to the Orlando Sentinel

Walter Cronkite and comedian Bill Dana pay tribute to Senator John Glenn.

AP

This undated photo made available by NASA shows astronaut John Glenn in his Mercury flight suit. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (NASA via AP)

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

John Glenn leaves the crew-transport vehicle Saturday at KSC after completing his second mission in space, this time aboard shuttle discovery. ORG XMIT: 9808240 Red Huber/Staff Photographer

Joe Fudge / Daily Press

Photos taken outside Hampton Air Power Park and the John Glenn Bridge over New Market Creek.

NASA TV via The Associated Press

Astronaut John Glenn, left, and commander Curt Brown, right, listen to astronaut Pedro Duque as he answers questions from school children in Madrid, Spain during this televised event from Discovery's middeck Monday, Nov. 2, 1998. Duque is the first Spanish national to fly in space aboard the shuttle.

Staff / Orlando Sentinel file

Children in Florida congratulate John Glenn on his successful orbit around the Earth. Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. He died on Wednesday, December 8, 2016 at the age of 95.

HO / AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) This NASA file photo taken on October 26, 1998 shows US astronaut and senator John Glenn arriving at the Kennedy Space Center for his 29 October scheduled launch aboard the US Space Shuttle Discovery. Glenn, who made history twice as the first American to orbit the Earth and the first senior citizen to venture into space, has died at the age of 95, the Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs said on December 8, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NASA / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS HO/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Discovery crew members file out of the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, Oct. 9. They are Chiaki Mukai (front left, clockwise), pilot Steve Lindsey, Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson, Pedro Duque, Sen. John Glenn and commander Curt Brown. The space shuttle is scheduled to be launched Oct. 29. ORG XMIT: 9807467 Red Huber/Staff Photographer

NASA via The Associated Press

Astronaut John Glenn Jr., the first American to orbit the earth, receives a massive ticker-tape welcome along lower Broadway in New York City, March 1, 1962, on his way to a City Hall ceremony. The partly constructed building at right made a grandstand for cheering crowds.

HO / AFP/Getty Images

(FILES) This file photo dated February 1962 shows US astronaut John Glenn wearing a Mercury pressure suit during training for his 20 Feburary 1962 space flight aboard Friendship 7 in which he became the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn, who made history twice as the first American to orbit the Earth and the first senior citizen to venture into space, has died at the age of 95, the Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs said on December 8, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NASA / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS HO/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

John Raoux, Orlando Sentinel

Sen. John Glenn waves to the crowd along State Road A1A in Cocoa Beach as he leads a parade for the crew of his shuttle mission on Dec. 11, 1998. Officials estimated the crowd at 25,000 to 30,000.

AP / Daily Press

John Glenn orbited the Earth in 1962, with his path and his re-entry determined by computations from Katherine Johnson.

The Associated Press file

A technician adjusts the neck wrap of then astronaut John Glenn in this Feb. 20, 1962 file photo.

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Scott Parazynski (from left), Stephen Robinson, Steven Lindsey, Curt Brown, Pedro Duque, Chiaki Mukai and John Glenn, crew of the historic Oct. 29 Discovery shuttle launch, pose for a picture at Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 8. ORG XMIT: 9807462 Red Huber/Staff Photographer

File / Orlando Sentinel

Undated photo of John Glenn (lying down in foreground wearing ice skates).

Jay LaPrete, The Associated Press

Former U.S. Sen. John Glenn speaks at a luncheon during the Ohio Newspaper Association Annual Convention Friday, Feb. 14, 2003, in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn said he's troubled about a possible war with Iraq and that the Bush administration should focus instead on rooting out terrorists who threaten the United States.

Associated Press / Associated Press

John Glenn and his wife, Annie.

Staff / Orlando Sentinel file

Mrs. Mattie Walden and Harold Gartner show their support for John Glenn.

AP

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 1962 file photo, Mercury astronaut John Glenn, and his wife, Annie, ride in the back of an open car with Vice-President Johnson during a parade in Glenn's honor in Washington. The Capitol is seen in the background. Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/File)

RED HUBER / ORLANDO SENTINEL

Kennedy Space Center - John Glenn greets his wife, Annie with a kiss after arriving at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Oct. 26. Glenn's children and grandson also welcomed him. The 77-year old senator is set to return to space Thursday, Oct. 29 aboard Discovery. ORG XMIT: 9808050SLF Red Huber/Staff Photographer

Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Sentinel headline from February 22, 1962, showing news coverage of John Glenn becoming the first American to orbit Earth.

Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel

2004 FILE PHOTO - From left, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Sen. Bob Graham (D-fla), former astronaut and senator John Glenn, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) gaze up at a replica of the Mercury Atlas rocket that took Glenn into space, at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, near Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, July 26, 2004. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Harvey Georges / AP

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 23, 1977 file photo, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, center, speaks to a group of Youngstown, Ohio Steelworkers on the steps of the Capitol in Washington. The group urged the government to curb steel imports and to relax pollution control requirements. Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth who later spent 24 years representing Ohio in the Senate, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges, File)

Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel

2004 FILE PHOTO - Former astronaut and senator John Glenn welcomes Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (left) to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, near Cape Canaveral, Fla. Monday, July 26, 2004. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Robert A. Reeder, TPN

Senator John Glenn, 77-year-old astronaut.

Anonymous / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Democratic presidential candidate, John Glenn, right, his wife Annie Glenn, left, and Roxanne Conlin, center, Glenns Iowa campaign director, give an optimistic thumbs up to a crowd of supporters at Glenns last rally before the Iowa caucuses, Monday, Feb. 20, 1984, Des Moines, Iowa. Glenn flew to Washington after the rally and will follow caucus news while campaigning in the east. (AP Photo)