John Glenn 13, "Friendship 7", and had the name hand-painted on the side like the one on his F-86 had been. Glenn and Carpenter completed their training for the mission in January 1962, but postponement of the launch allowed them to continue rehearsing. Glenn spent 25 hours and 25 minutes in the spacecraft performing hangar and altitude tests, and 59 hours and 45 minutes in the simulator. He flew 70 simulated missions and reacted to 189 simulated system failures. After a long series of delays, "Friendship 7" lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 20, 1962. There were eleven
Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility The Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility, now known as the In-Space Propulsion Facility, is (according to NASA), the "world’s only facility capable of testing full-scale upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines under simulated high-altitude conditions." The facility, located at NASA's Plum Brook Station of the Glenn Research Center near Sandusky, Ohio, was built in 1968. Its first major use was for testing stages of the Centaur Rocket, which was used to launch some of America's most important space probes. The facility was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. NASA's Plum Brook Station is located off Taylor