John Herschel Glenn, Jr
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the
first manned orbital mission of the United States. Launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC),
Florida, he completed a successful three-orbit mission round-the-world, reaching a maximum altitude
(apogee) of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 mph.
Glenn's "Friendship 7" Mercury spacecraft landed approximately 800 miles southeast of KSC in the
vicinity of Grand Turk Island. The mission duration from launch to impact was 4H 55M 23S.
