( CNN ) -- The first American to orbit the Earth has undergone successful heart surgery . Former Sen. John Glenn , 92 , had a heart valve replaced last month at the Cleveland Clinic , according to Hank Wilson , director of communications for the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University . `` He 's in great shape , '' and is at home in Columbus , Ohio , recovering , Wilson said . Glenn , piloting the Mercury space capsule dubbed Friendship 7 , became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20 , 1962 , circling the planet three times in just under five hours . He is the last surviving of the original seven U.S. astronauts from Project Mercury . In 1998 , at age 77 , he flew a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery , becoming the oldest person to travel in space . Glenn , a Democrat , served as a U.S. senator from 1974 until 1999 , and ran for president in 1984 .
The first American to orbit the earth has undergone successful heart surgery . John Glenn also was a U.S . astronaut and is now in his 80s, but he still works as an engineer for NASA.