Following suborbital flights by Shepard and Virgil (Gus) Grissom, John Glenn, a 40-year-old Marine pilot, became the first American to orbit the Earth. During his five-hour, three-orbit flight on Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn flew his Friendship 7 capsule by hand when a control jet clogged. Then the nation held its breath when a faulty switch indicated the heat shield might come off during re-entry. But Glenn landed safely.
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