Friendship 7

To hear the original transmission of that message, press the button located on the ornament.  The message will play one time and stop automatically.  The light in the capsule glows automatically and continuously.

February 20, 1962
Cape Canaveral, Florida

After a two-day delay due to weather and mechanical problems, the Friendship 7 was launched into space by an Atlas D rocket.  Orbiting at an altitude of 100 miles, it circled the earth three times in 4 hours 55 minutes—then splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.  John H. Glenn Jr., the third of the Original Seven U.S. astronauts to fly in space, used manual controls at times during the flight.  He named his craft the Friendship 7 to recognize the teamwork required for this mission.

May 25, 1961
Washington, D.C.

President John F. Kennedy, addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress, declared:  “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”