Well Done Col. Glenn

Red and blue circular framing with white text and center photo of Colonel John Glenn.

Colonel John Glenn was an American astronaut who holds the distinction of being part of the first group of astronauts to have been selected by NASA. Announced by NASA on April 9, 1959, Glenn was part of the Mercury Seven, otherwise known as the Original Seven. Those selected were to take part in Project Mercury, an early example of the Space Race and whose goal was to put a man into orbit and return him safely to Earth before the Soviet Union could. Though NASA would fail in taking that distinction due to Soviet astronaut, Yuru Gagarin becoming the first person to journey into outer space and complete orbit, Glenn did became the first American to complete the task.

Conducted on February 20, 1962, the mission, known as Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6), was the third human spaceflight mission by the U.S.. Glenn was the pilot for the mission and successfully performed three orbits around the Earth. Glenn conducted the mission in the spacecraft, Friendship 7 . As a result of the mission, Glenn also became the the fifth person and third American in space. Upon resigning from NASA in 1964, Glenn became a Senator from Ohio and was also inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990.

Read more about the History of NASA buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.