Scott Simon: Fifty years ago, John Glenn was alone on top of a rocket waiting to blast into space and around the Earth. In these times, when people can become suddenly famous for doing so little, it may be good to recall the daring and imagination of that moment on Feb. 20, 1962.... When an automated steering system jammed, millions of people watching held their breath. But John Glenn was a pilot, not a tourist.
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On February 20, 1962, John Glenn orbited the Earth three times in his Friendship 7 spaceship to make the United States the second nation to send a man into orbit. This is the Universal Newsreel of his flight. More » Read Post
It was fifty years ago today — February 20, 1962 — that astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in his little space capsule Friendship 7. Perhaps not as much a milestone as Neil Armstrong and his team stepp... Read Post
Fifty years ago today John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth and return safely to the surface. According to NASA: Read Post