<a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_program" id="mw-Q" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Mercury program">Mercury program</a>: While aboard <i id="mw-g"><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_7" id="mw-w" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Friendship 7">Friendship 7</a></i>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn" id="mw_A" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="John Glenn">John Glenn</a> becomes the first American to orbit the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth" id="mw_Q" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Earth">Earth</a>, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.