Former astronaut, Sen. John Glenn undergoes heart surgery

WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Former Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, underwent successful heart surgery last month.

Glenn, 92, had a heart valve replaced at Cleveland Clinic, according to Hank Wilson, director of communications at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.

"He's in great shape," Wilson said, adding that Glenn is recovering at his home in Columbus.

Glenn, a former Marine Corps pilot, made space history when he was launched into orbit on February 20, 1962. He is the last living member of the "Mercury 7," the original group of test pilots who became NASA's first astronauts, and in 1998, at the age of 77, Glenn became the oldest person ever to travel to space when he participated in a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

After retiring from NASA in 1963, Glenn ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1970, and then successfully in 1974. He served as a senator for Ohio for 24 years, and ran for president in the Democratic primary in 1974.