John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth when he flew Friendship 7 on 20 February 1962.
Glenn completed three orbits during a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. His Mercury spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, and he reached a maximum speed of roughly 28,000 kilometres per hour. The mission was a major American response to the Soviet Union’s earlier orbital successes.
During the flight, a warning suggested that the spacecraft’s heat shield might be loose. Mission controllers kept the retrorocket pack attached during re-entry to help hold the shield in place. The landing proceeded safely, and Glenn became a national hero.
Alan Shepard had been the first American in space, but his Mercury-Redstone flight was suborbital. Scott Carpenter later became the fourth American to orbit Earth.