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Mercury-Redstone 3, the first piloted Mercury flight, rocket in flight configuration test to evaluate astronaut escape feasibility.

Boilerplate Mercury spacecraft being manufactured “in-house” by NASA Langley technicians.

Basic diagrams of the Mercury spacecraft and rocket configuration.

The Mercury-Atlas rocket for the Friendship 7 mission lifts off, carrying John H. Glenn, Jr., into orbit.

Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr., dons his silver Mercury pressure suit in preparation for launch.

Glenn in his silver Mercury spacesuit during preflight training exercises at Cape Canaveral.

Glenn suited up.

Glenn and his wife, Annie, join Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson for a parade after his historic flight.

Glenn meets President John F. Kennedy after his flight.

Glenn enters the Friendship 7 spacecraft before launch on February 20, 1962.

Glenn receives a medal from President Kennedy.

Launch of Freedom 7, the first American human spaceflight mission. Astronaut Alan Shepard flew on a suborbital lob on May 5, 1961.

Prelaunch test of the later Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA9) on Launch Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The original Mercury 7 astronauts, whose selection was announced on April 9, 1959.

The Freedom 7 spacecraft on the launch pad for the Mercury-Redstone 3 first American human spaceflight mission.

A Mercury capsule complete in a hangar at what is now NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.