United States
On February 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn piloted the Mercury capsule Friendship 7, becoming the first American to orbit Earth. He completed three orbits in just under five hours before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission restored national confidence after earlier Soviet space successes. Glenn’s achievement was a milestone in Project Mercury and U.S. space exploration. He later became a U.S. senator and returned to space in 1998 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
