John Glenn Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of His Historic Flight

John Glenn fever gripping Cape Canaveral -- again

Published February 17, 2012 | Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –  John Glenn fever has taken hold of Cape Canaveral once again.
Three days before the 50th anniversary of his historic flight, the first American to orbit the Earth addressed employees at Kennedy Space Center. The NASA auditorium was packed Friday with hundreds of workers, many of whom stood along the walls to see the space legend.

The 90-year-old Glenn was joined on stage by Scott Carpenter, 86, the only other survivor of the original Mercury 7 astronauts.
Glenn recalled how he and his fellow Mercury astronauts traveled to Cape Canaveral to watch a missile blast off. It was a night launch, and the rocket blew apart over their heads.

"That wasn't a very good confidence-builder for our first trip to the cape," Glenn said. Improvements were made, and Glenn said he gained confidence in his Mercury-Atlas rocket, a converted nuclear missile. Otherwise, he said he would not have climbed aboard.

Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule circled Earth three times on Feb. 20, 1962. Carpenter followed aboard Aurora 7 on May 24, 1962.