John Glenn orbited the Earth, the first American to do so, on this day in history, Feb. 20, 1962. The United States' feverish effort came amid the Cold War space race.
"Absolutely fearless," the Splendid Splinter, whose legendarily keen eyesight and reflexes made him a formidable force at the plate and in the cockpit, said of Glenn. Glenn's reputation as top test pilot earned him a spot as one of the"Mercury 7" — the first seven astronauts tapped to lead America's effort at manned space exploration.
"Project Mercury was the United States' first program to put people in space. Beginning in 1958 and completed in 1963, the program made six crewed flights and marked the start of human spaceflight in the United States," states the National Air and Space Museum. Mankind has not returned to the lunar surface since the last Americans left more than a half century ago.Gemini sent 10 crews into space and included the first spacewalk. Apollo then landed six missions on the moon between 1969 and 1972. Mankind has not returned to the lunar surface since the last Americans left more than a half century ago. Glenn left the space program in 1964 and retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps in 1965.
In this Feb. 20, 2012, file photo, Sen. John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite before a discussion titled"Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future" in Columbus, Ohio.He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after a life spent in service of the United States in wartime, in the halls of the Capitol and leading his countrymen beyond the bounds of Earth.
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