The LuLac Edition #4,691, February 20th, 2002

 

JOHN GLENN & FRIENDSHIP 7 @ 60

(Photo: Collect Space)

It was sixty years ago today that John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. This was part of a space race between the United States and the Soviet Union in which the Americans were lagging. The successful completion of Glenn's mission (he orbited the Earth three times) did much to restore American prestige worldwide.

Glenn put his life at risk as he traveled at 17,500 miles per hour 160 miles above Earth. With great skill, courage, and grace, Glenn piloted the spacecraft manually as the autopilot function failed, and Mission Control wondered whether the capsule's life-saving heat shield would hold while reentering the atmosphere. Glenn returned to Earth after 5 hours, suffering no injury more severe than scraped knuckles, sustained as he prepared to exit the capsule after a safe splashdown.  (LuLac, Online Exhibits)