John Glenn, the world's oldest astronaut, said yesterday that gravity weighed hard at the end of his nostalgic nine-day orbital odyssey.
Senator Glenn (77), and six colleagues held their first news conference a day after landing at the Kennedy Space Centre aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
"I didn't feel too hot when I got off yesterday," the space legend admitted to reporters. "You don't know when you come back whether you are going to be so incapacitated that you're on a gurney. Fortunately, I didn't have to do that."
Senator Glenn said he felt woozy after the landing and was still avoiding nausea-inducing sudden head movements. For the retiring senator from Ohio it was his second trip into space since becoming America's first man in orbit on February 20th, 1962.
Senator Glenn persuaded NASA that there was a need for geriatric research in orbit and performed several studies on ageing during the nine-day mission.
He said he was determined after touchdown to join his six crew mates on the traditional post-flight inspection of the winged orbiter.
"If I had been on my hands and knees I was going to do it," he said. "I wasn't quite to that point but obviously I was not doing my best gait out there."
Senator Glenn appeared shaky during his short shuffle around the shuttle at the runway on Saturday and had to be supported by NASA officials as he stepped over a large ventilation tube.
Senator Glenn's second trip into space, 36 years after his first, will almost certainly be his last if his wife of 55 years, Annie, gets her way.
"She's rather firm in her attitude on that at the moment," Senator Glenn said. "I would imagine this would probably be my last flight. She's been through an awful lot. I owe her some consideration at this point in life, I think."
The couple were reunited at NASA's crew quarters soon after the landing.
"Annie was very glad to have me back and I was very glad to see her. It was a very touching moment," Senator Glenn said.
President Clinton called the shuttle astronauts on Saturday night to congratulate them on their successful mission and return to earth. While Senator Glenn was still in space, the two Democratic politicians had exchanged e-mails.
The seven shuttle astronauts, who include a Spaniard and a Japanese, departed Cape Canaveral yesterday. A hero's welcome was planned by NASA employees at the crew's training base in Houston and a street parade in their honour will take place on Wednesday.