On This Day in Space History: 20 February

On 20 February 1962, US Marine Colonel John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth.
 
Glenn was one of the original NASA 'Mercury Seven' astronauts who piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft, 'Friendship 7', on the first US manned orbital mission. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, he completed three orbits around Earth, at a maximum altitude of about 162 miles and an orbital speed of about 26 000 kilometres per hour.