Man-In-Space Firsts:
Politicos In Orbit
TABLE OF CONTENTS
First politician from space: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova, in 1963 the first woman to travel in space, was elected a member of the Supreme Soviet in 1967, then a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1974.

First astronaut in public office: John H. Glenn Jr., in 1962 the first American to orbit Earth, was elected to the U.S. Senate from Ohio in 1974.

First politicians in space: U.S. Senator Edwin "Jake" Garn orbited Earth in shuttle Discovery in April 1985. U.S. Rep. William "Bill" Nelson rode in shuttle Columbia in January 1986. Later, U.S. Senator John H. Glenn Jr. returned to space in shuttle Discovery in 1998.

First royalty in space: Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Salman Abdel Aziz Al-Saud flew in shuttle Discovery in 1985.

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