DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
First American Astronaut to Orbit Earth - February 20th, 1962

John Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit around the earth. This special event occured on February 20th, 1962 and it's such a great day to celebrate and learn about space!

Before becoming one of the first seven American astronauts for NASA, John Glenn was an accomplished pilot. The selection process for these astronauts was difficult. 508 people applied for these seven positions and had to take many different tests. So even just becoming a NASA astronaut seems pretty impressive!

On his monumental flight orbiting the earth, John Glenn travelled in the Friendship 7 capsule. His journey started at 9:47am at the launch pad in Cape Canaveral. The capsule was incredibly fast - it travelled at 17,500 miles per hour! His entire journey include three orbits around earth and took five hours. But his journey was not flawless because there were some mechanical issues with the capsule (specifically its heat shield). After stepping out of the capsule (back on earth of course!), John Glen said "It was hot in there."

Below are several space and astronaut activities that are a gerat way to celebrate this awesome SPACE-iversary!