Friendship 7 Shuttle - Mercury-Atlas 6

myminifactory

The Friendship 7 spacecraft soared into orbit aboard an Atlas LV-3B launch vehicle blasting off from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. After a grueling four hours and 56 minutes in flight, the spacecraft plunged back into the Earth's atmosphere, splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean where it was swiftly retrieved by the USS Noa. Mercury-Atlas 6, also known as MA-6, marked a historic third human spaceflight for the United States and was part of Project Mercury. Conducted by NASA on February 20, 1962, John Glenn piloted the mission with precision, completing three orbits around the Earth. This remarkable feat made him the first American astronaut to orbit the planet.