Glenn Orbits Earth: First American in Space

Three times the launch had been scrubbed. Twice for weather, once for mechanical issues. By the time John Glenn finally squeezed into the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 on the morning of February 20, 1962, the pressure was enormous: the Soviets had put two men in orbit, and America’s space program was running on fumes and national anxiety. Four hours and 55 minutes later, Glenn splashed down in the Atlantic as a national hero, having orbited the Earth three times and survived a reentry that nearly killed him. Glenn was 40 years old, a Marine fighter pilot who had flown 149 combat missions in World War II and Korea and held the transcontinental speed record. He was also the most telegenic of the Mercury Seven astronauts, the one NASA executives and reporters instinctively trusted to represent the program to the public. His selection for the first American orbital flight was driven as much by personality as by performance. The Atlas rocket launched at 9:47 AM from Cape Canaveral. Glenn reached orbit in five minutes and began circling the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour, 162 miles above the surface. He described the view to Mission Control in Houston with the measured enthusiasm of a test pilot who could not quite contain his wonder. He observed "fireflies" outside his window — frozen particles from the spacecraft’s cooling system, glowing in sunlight. Then the flight turned dangerous. During the second orbit, a sensor indicated that the heat shield might have come loose. If true, Glenn would burn up during reentry. Mission Control made the decision to leave the retrorocket package attached during reentry, hoping it would hold the heat shield in place. Glenn was told only that they wanted to observe the effect. He reentered the atmosphere watching chunks of burning retropack fly past his window, not knowing if the heat shield was next. It held. The sensor had been faulty. Glenn’s three orbits did not match the Soviets’ seventeen, but they restored American confidence in the space race and proved that the nation could compete — even from behind.