Launch of America's first orbital spaceflight. The Mercury Atlas rocket, carrying astronaut John Glenn, blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the beginning of Mercury mission MA-6 on 20 February 1962. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on this mission, in his capsule named Friendship 7. The flight was terminated after just three orbits, and Glenn landed safely - 4 hours 55 minutes after launch. Glenn never went into space again, entering politics after leaving NASA and becoming a US Senator.