On February 20, 1962, NASA launched an astronaut into orbit around the Earth for the first time. Discover more space history 👉 https://space-com.visitlink.me/h15Vma John Glenn was the third American to launch into space and the third human to orbit Earth. Two Soviet cosmonauts had orbited Earth before him. He blasted off from Cape Canaveral in a Mercury spacecraft named Friendship 7 and circled the Earth three times. The mission lasted close to five hours. After a bumpy reentry, Friendship 7 sp