Friendship 7

February 20th, 1962

Mercury-Atlas 6 carried the first American Astronaut [John Glenn] to orbit. He spent a little less than 5 hours traveling a distance of 121,793 kilometers over 3 orbits. All in what was basically a glorified ICBM nosecone.

While not the first human to orbit, he did become the first human to return from orbit to the surface in the same vehicle. Cosmonauts had thus far ejected from their Vostok capsules before touchdown. A pedantic distinction but a distinction none the less.

Oh, also, Mission Control was concerned that the heat-shield maybe fell off while in orbit. They weren’t sure though so they decided to play it safe and use the retrorocket pack to hold it in place. These Mercury spacecraft were sus at best.

Be as pedantic as you like with this simple yet capable card. Send a random card for no reason. Send three cards to one person, or send a card with another card inside it for easy "re-entry." Be bold, be unique, be adventurous. That's what being a S P A C E P I O N E E R is all about. Here's to you, you steely-eyed missile person.

-4.25” x 5.5” card & space blue envelope
-Blank inside
-Printed on 100lb Cardstock
-Made in USA