JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On this day 62 years ago, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth.
Launching from the Kennedy Space Center, Project Mercury's Friendship 7 circled Earth three times before splashing down in the ocean near Grand Turk Island. The flight took 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds. It secured the United States as a strong contender in the space race against the Soviet Union.
What better way to celebrate this anniversary than another space launch from Cape Canaveral?
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday at 3:11 p.m from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Telkomsat Merah Putih 2 mission launched the HTS-113BT telecommunications satellite, which will provide faster internet service to Indonesia.
With clear skies, we were able to see the launch from the First Coast. If you took pictures, make sure to post them to the First Coast News Weather Watchers Facebook page.
