A rocket that took former NASA astronaut and United States senator John Glenn into space to orbit Earth in 1962 was built in San Diego.
Glenn died on Thursday at the age of 95 in a hospital in Ohio.
He made history in 1962, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth in the Mercury-Atlas 6, a rocket built at a local company during the Cold War.
Ken Kramer, a former NBC 7 employee highlighted the news coverage on the rocket in a video.
NBC 7 spoke with Francis French on Thursday, a space historian at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park who worked with Glenn.
"Up until this day we've always had one of the original Mercury 7 around. The numbers have dwindled over the years and it's a really sad day. We've now lost that final ability to remember what it was like to be the very first American to be chosen into space. We've closed a door on history today which is very very sad," French said.
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Although the company has long been demolished, the legacy of San Diego's part in the historical event still lives on.
