John Glenn — 50th Anniversary as First American to Orbit the Earth

John Glenn, who launched into orbit for his historic spaceflight 50 years ago (February 20, 2012.)

John Glenn

The former astronaut and U.S. senator from Ohio, now 90, became the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, circling it three times in five hours and helping to lead the nation into space.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73086.html#ixzz1n00kTHp7

Here are some facts about John Glenn:

A retired American astronaut, United States Senator, and war hero, John Glenn began his service to his country by joining the Marine Corps in 1942. He served in WWII (59 combat missions, multiple decorations) and Korea (63 missions) and served briefly as an Air Force exchange pilot (27 missions). In Korea he was also credited with shooting down 3 enemy MiG’s in the final 9 days of fighting.

In July 1957 Glenn performed the first transcontinental flight at supersonic speed, flying from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes. In 1959 he joined the space program as a Project Mercury Astronaut, and on 20 February 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth (Mercury-Atlas 6). In his Friendship 7 capsule Glenn completed three orbits with a maximum altitude of 162 miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour.

From nndb.com — John Glenn

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 “Friendship 7″ spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, he completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching a maximum altitude (apogee) of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. Glenn’s “Friendship 7″ Mercury spacecraft landed approximately 800 miles southeast of KSC in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island. Mission duration from launch to impact was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds.

From National Aeronautics and Space Administration

It is sad that the United States, having retired its aging fleet of space shuttles last year, has no way at the moment to launch its own astronauts (from abcnews.com.) How are the younger generations going to know about the American astronaut, NASA and the missions that tjey went on. Hopefully, some how, whether with private or government money, the space program will someday continue.