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John Glenn's space flight: 50 years since first American orbited Earth
It was 50 years ago Monday that John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. Since then, man has walked on the moon and hundreds of manned space flights have taken off, but Glenn's initial trip was one of the moments that started it all.
Climbing in
John Glenn climbs into the Friendship 7 space capsule atop an Atlas rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla. for the flight which made him the first American to orbit the earth.