🔬 John Glenn orbits the Earth (1962)
Where: Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
📅 On This Day: February 20
February 20, 1962: John Glenn orbits the Earth. On 20 February 1962, American astronaut John Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the capsule Friendship 7. He circled the Earth three times in about five hours, becoming the first American to orbit the planet. That little spacecraft is now at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
✨ More events on this day
- 1824 🔬 William Buckland announced the name Megalosaurus, the very first dinosaur to be scientifically named, from giant bones found in England.
- 1877 🎨 Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, about a princess turned into a swan, was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
- 1935 🧭 Caroline Mikkelsen, travelling with her husband on a Norwegian whaling ship, became the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
🧠 Question of the day
How many times did Glenn circle the Earth?
- A hundred times
- Once
- Three times
Show the answer
Answer: Three times
Questions
What happened on February 20?
February 20, 1962: John Glenn orbits the Earth. It happened in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.
In the game, the "Today on Earth" panel shows this story on its day, with a question to answer and a place to fly to.