On February 20, 1962, Marine Lieutenant Colonel John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth in a space capsule. His official communication with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, recorded his skillful manual piloting of his capsule, Friendship 7, after the autopilot device failed during reentry. In addition, after the second orbit, the heat shield, designed to prevent the capsule from burning up during reentry, was reported to be loose. In spite of these obstacles, Glenn was able to orbit the earth three times and safely return to Cape Canaveral almost five hours after launch. Glenn’s flight came during the cold war, characterized by intense ideological and military competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. The exploration of space and its use for strategic purposes were crucial aspects of such competition. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviets had made spectacular advances in their space program, and the United States appeared to be behind the Communist superpower.