How many times did John Glenn go to space?

John Glenn has been to space twice. He became the first American to orbit the Earth on this date. In 4 hours 55 minutes, he circled the globe three times in his space capsule friendship 7. The feat was momentous and made Glenn a hero and a household name.

Glenn’s launch to space was postponed four times due to mechanical issues with the Atlas rocket, and weather uncertainties. Finally, with the weather cooperating and the mechanical issues solved, Glenn was strapped into Friendship 7 early on the morning of February 20, 1962.

Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn launched into space again as a payload specialist abroad the space shuttle Discovery on October 29, 1998. At the age of 77, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space.

His mission’s primary scientific aim at that time was to study the effects of spaceflight on seniors.