John Glenn was born in 1921. His home town is Cambridge,Ohio. He was a U.S. astronaut, and politition. On Febuary 20, 1962 he was the first American and third person to be put into orbital space flight. He circled the earth three times on a spacecraft called "Friendship 7",(Mercury-Atlas6). After retiring in 1964 from NASA,and the U.S. Marine Corps, he was elected in 1974,1980,1986,1992,to the U.S. Senate,as a Democrat from Ohio. He made unsuccessful bids for the democratic presidential nominations in 1984 and 1988.
John Glenn
The day had come for the U.S. to let the world know that it was definitely an up-and-comer in the space race. It was February 20th in 1962, when Lieutenant Colonel John Herschel Glenn Jr. was prepared to be launched into space by an Atlas D Rocket, and circle the Earth three times in his Mercury space craft "Friendship 7." America's hopes depended on his success.
Glenn squeezed himself through the hatch of "Friendly 7" Just a few minutes after 6:00am., just about four hours before lift off. Glenn's custom-made space suit had lights on the tips of the fingers on the gloves, so there would be light at moments of darkness in orbit. He had a mirror on his chest reflecting the instrument panel and for in-flight photographs. He also had mirrors on each wrist so he could see any part of the capsule with minimum movement.
Finally, the count down began and John Glenn was propelled into space. After the initial bumpy ride, when the whole rocket shook during powered flight, Glenn started to feel his weight increasing. During the first minutes of flight, the rocket burned more fuel than a jet liner does when it flies coast to coast across North America. After one minute and 56 seconds, Glenn weighed near half a ton durning space orbit.