John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962. On the 40th anniversary of his Mercury flight former Senator Glenn talked about his space flight and the history of the space program. Topics included the Cold War, his space flight at age 77, and the differences between the space flights. He responded to questions from members of the audience. The program opened with a video about his space flight, shown in progress.
This address in the Wernher von Braun Lecture Series was delivered February 20, 2002, at the National Air and Space Museum.