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John Glenn Presents Space Capsule to Smithsonian

Feb. 20, 1963 - Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. presented the space capsule Friendship VII to the Smithsonian Institution today. Along with it went the space suit and helmet he wore and the small American flag he carried on his three-orbit flight, the first by an American, one year ago today. About 400 persons jammed into the Smithsonian to witness the presentation ceremony, held under two famous aircraft suspended from the ceiling. These were the craft in which Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first powered flight in 1903 and the Spirit of St. Louis, in which Charles A. Lindbergh made the first solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927. Among the observers were Mrs. Glenn and their two children, David, 17, and Lyn, 15.

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