First American to Orbit the Earth

On February 20, 1962,
an Atlas rocket lifted off
from the launch pad at
Cape Canaveral, carrying
the small Friendship 7
capsule toward the heavens.

Inside sat an American
that NASA determined had
the "right stuff" astronaut
John Glenn,
a veteran combat flyer in
World War II and
the Korean War.

Friendship 7, with the
American flag proudly
painted on the silvery hull,
soon reached its fixed orbit
162 miles above the
Earth's surface.

Beneath the spacecraft,
the Earth turned on its axis
15 degrees every hour,
causing night and day to pass
before Glenn's spellbound eyes
from Tuesday to Wednesday
and back again.

Completing his third orbit,
Glenn piloted Friendship 7
back to Earth.

The flight had lasted 4 hours,
55 minutes and 24 seconds.
In that time, Glenn had traveled
83,450 miles at speeds up to
17,545 mph, becoming the first
American to orbit the Earth.

It was the first time the American
flag was displayed in space.
Explaining the importance of NASA's
Project Mercury, historian
David Lawrence said,
"The event was historic,
not merely because of the
conquest of space by an
American astronaut,
but because of the worldwide
manifestation of an impulse that
came from the hearts of millions
of human beings everywhere.

It was probably the most
universal expression of the
spiritual feeling of mankind
that we have witnessed
in our time."