Mercury-Atlas 6
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Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was the first crewed American orbital spaceflight, which took place on February 20, 1962. Piloted by astronaut John Glenn and operated by NASA as part of Project Mercury, it was the fifth human spaceflight, preceded by Soviet orbital flights Vostok 1 and 2 and American sub-orbital flights Mercury-Redstone 3 and 4.
Still frame of John Glenn in orbit, taken by a motion picture camera inside Friendship 7
John Herschel Glenn, Jr.Project Mercury Crewed missions← Mercury-Redstone 4Mercury-Atlas 7 →
Glenn entering Friendship 7
Launch of Friendship 7
John Glenn
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John Herschel Glenn Jr. was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a U.S. Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77.
Official portrait, 1990s
Glenn's USAF F-86F, dubbed "MiG Mad Marine", during the Korean War in 1953. The names of his wife and children are also written on the aircraft.
Glenn standing in the cockpit of a F-106B in 1961
Glenn in his Mercury spacesuit in 1962