February 20, 1962

Mercury-Atlas 6

John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7

A false cockpit signal made controllers fear Friendship 7's heat shield had come loose — so Glenn reentered with the spent retrorocket package still strapped on.

9:47:39 a.m. EST, 20 February 1962

An Atlas rocket launched John Glenn in Friendship 7 from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral at 9:47:39 a.m. EST on 20 February 1962.

Glenn completed three Earth orbits, becoming the first American in orbit — though not the first American in space, a distinction already held by the suborbital flights of Alan Shepard and Virgil Grissom. He alternated between automatic and manual control after a yaw-control jet apparently clogged.

The heat-shield warning

A faulty telemetry switch suggested that the capsule's heat shield might be loose. Controllers therefore told Glenn to retain the spent retrorocket package during reentry, so its straps might help hold the shield in place.

Postflight inspection showed the warning had been false — but controllers did not know that during reentry.

Splashdown and recovery

Friendship 7 splashed down in the Atlantic at 2:43 p.m. EST after 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds, having covered 75,679 statute miles. The destroyer USS Noa recovered Glenn and the capsule, which was aboard 21 minutes after splashdown.

A medical examination aboard USS Noa found Glenn slightly dehydrated but otherwise in excellent condition.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 3 audit passes

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