February 20, 2012
It was fifty years ago today that John Glenn rocketed into orbit aboard Friendship 7 to become the first American to orbit the Earth. Glenn returned to Earth orbit one more time aboard the Space Shuttle more than 37 years later.
The Mercury launch was preceded by many other Mercury missions, some unmanned, some with chimpanzees on board, and two suborbital flights. Project Mercury began America on the path to the Moon.
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Updated September 3, 2011