John Glenn’s First Spaceflight

On 20 February 1962, John Glenn (1921-2016) became the fifth human to enter space. For his spaceflight Glenn, a US Marine Corps aviator was strapped into a tiny Mercury capsule (named Friendship 7) just as Alan Shepard and “Gus” Grissom, the two earlier US astronauts had been. There was a Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsFebruary 20, 2012 ago

Human Exploration

Alan Shepard: First American in Space

The first American in space, Alan Shepard, made his historic flight fifty years ago. Part of Project Mercury, the flight of Freedom 7 followed mere weeks after Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering spaceflight. The Space Race was underway! “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” NASA astronaut Alan Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsMay 4, 2011 ago

Redstone

John Glenn’s First Spaceflight

Alan Shepard: First American in Space