Astronaut and former Sen. John Glenn, 95, has died

According to a report, his body will lie in state at the Ohio Statehouse for a day and there will be a public memorial service at Ohio State University’s Mershon Auditorium. Glenn will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service. Dates and times for the public events have not yet been announced.

Glenn, 95, had been hospitalized in his hometown of Columbus on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. Officials with the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University did not immediately disclose the specific reason.

“[For] anybody who’s 95, any illness is always bad,” college spokesman Hank Wilson told Cleveland.com. Two years ago, Glenn underwent heart-valve replacement surgery and suffered a stroke.

Glenn’s long career in the military, science and politics began in the 1940s. He served from 1941 to 1965 in the Navy and Marine Corps and fought in World War II and the Korean War. In 1959, NASA selected him as one of the “Mercury Seven” military test pilots to become the country’s first astronauts. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, making him a household name during America’s Space Race while John F. Kennedy was president. He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 1974, he was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat and served four terms until retiring in 1999. During his second to last year in the Senate, he flew in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs, making him the oldest person to fly in space at 77 years old. He was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, who signed a bill in June renaming Port Columbus International Airport in Glenn’s honor, said Glenn was Ohio’s “ultimate hometown hero.”

“John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio’s ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve,” Kasich said in a statement. “As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation. Though he soared deep into space and to the heights of Capitol Hill, his heart never strayed from his steadfast Ohio roots. Godspeed, John Glenn!”

Other major politicians began sharing their condolences after news of Glenn’s passing. Many of them included in their statements the word, “Godspeed,” a reference what astronaut Scott Carpenter at mission control in Cape Canaveral told Glenn right before he first took off into orbit in 1962.

“Today we lost a great pioneer of air and space in John Glenn. He was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers. He will be missed,” tweeted President-elect Trump, who flew in to John Glenn Airport in Columbus to visit Ohio State University, the scene of last week’s campus attack, just 90 minutes after news of Glenn’s death broke.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence said he was “saddened to hear of the passing of a US hero/astronaut/statesman. His courage inspired a generation to explore & serve. Godspeed John Glenn.”

President Obama said he “lost a friend.”

When Glenn took off from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas rocket in 1962, Obama said he “lifted the hopes of a nation. And when his Friendship 7 spacecraft splashed down a few hours later, the first American to orbit the Earth reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there’s no limit to the heights we can reach together.

“With John’s passing, our nation has lost an icon and Michelle and I have lost a friend. John spent his life breaking barriers, from defending our freedom as a decorated Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II and Korea, to setting a transcontinental speed record, to becoming, at age 77, the oldest human to touch the stars,” Obama continued. “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. Today, the people of Ohio remember a devoted public servant who represented his fellow Buckeyes in the U.S. Senate for a quarter century and who fought to keep America a leader in science and technology. Our thoughts are with his beloved wife Annie, their children John and Carolyn and the entire Glenn family. 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.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, Godspeed, John Glenn,” Obama concluded.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called Glenn an “American hero.”

“As a military pilot, astronaut, and U.S. senator, he never lost his passion for exploration and public service,” Ryan said. “On behalf of the House, I extend my deepest sympathies to Annie and the entire Glenn family. May his memory live on every time we look up at the stars.”

NASA said it was “saddened” by the loss of Glenn.

“A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra,” NASA said from its official Twitter account.