1st American orbited earth on feb 20.

On feb 20, 1962, NASA launched one of the most important flights in American history the mission? Send a man to orbit earth, observe his reactions and return him home safely. The pilot of this historic flight, john glenn, became a national hero and a symbol of American ambition. In, 1958, john glenn participated in a series of tests designed to select the first group of astronauts for the newly formed NASA manned space program. Each astronaut candidate, from an original pool of 508, had to meet seven criteria.