MERCURY FRIENDSHIP
7
First U.S. Manned Orbital Flight
Friendship
7 is the Mercury spacecraft in which astronaut John H. Glenn
Jr. became the first American to orbit the
Earth. On February 20, 1962, Glenn circled the Earth three times. The
space flight lasted 4 hours and 55 minutes and provided data on how the human
body functions under conditions of weightlessness.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin was the first person to travel in space. His
historic flight occurred on April 12, 1961.
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
| Height: |
2.7 m (9 ft) |
| Maximum diameter: |
1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight: |
1,300 kg (2,900 lb) |
| Manufacturer: |
McDonnell Aircraft Corp. for NASA |
| Launch vehicle: |
Atlas-D |