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
John Glenn of Freedom. Glenn was the seventh astronaut to receive this distinction. The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are considered the two most prestigious awards that can be bestowed on a civilian. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots awarded Glenn the Iven C. Kincheloe award in 1963, and he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 1968, National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1976, the International Space Hall of Fame in 1977, and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2000, he received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for