Former Utah Senator Jake Garn was a Republican politician who served as a United States Senator from 1974 to 1993. He was the first sitting U.S. Senator to fly in space, having been a payload specialist on the 1985 Space Shuttle Discovery mission. Prior to his election to the Senate, he served as mayor of Salt Lake City from 1971 to 1974. He was also a member of the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945.