When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. On Feb. 20, 1962, NASA astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth.

On May 24, 1962, NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter became the fourth American to go to space and the second American to orbit ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover aerospace, astronomy & hosted The Cosmic Controversy Podcast. Sixty years hence, it’s hard to appreciate just how much of ...

John Glenn’s Friendship 7 flight took less than five hours. But the lessons NASA learned that day continue to propel the agency forward today. The United States was falling behind in the space race in ...

This historic photograph was captured in full color by John Glenn, the first human being to take photographs from space, showing the Planet Earth’s brilliant blue and white horizon at the lower half ...

A harsh 1962 rejection letter said to be from NASA to a woman yearning to become an astronaut has surfaced online this week, reminding everyone how much times have changed. “Your offer to go on a ...