In the US, today is a day for remembering our many Presidents who have come before but, in between those sincere thoughts of Grover Cleveland and Calvin Coolidge, take a moment to ponder the great feats of John Glenn. On this day 50 years ago a Real American Hero blasted off into space, Glenn becoming the first American to achieve orbit. In just under five hours he rocketed away from Kennedy Space Center, made three trips around the globe and then splashed down again in the Atlantic. Of course, there’s a lot more to the story than that, and so NASA has created a 25 minute documentary about the trip, embedded for you below. Need more? Head on through to the source link for galleries, infographics and even 3D clickable models of the Friendship 7 spacecraft — all available to you without reaching escape velocity.
NASA celebrates 50 years of US Orbital Space flight, proves John Glenn still cooler than your dad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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