Mercury-Atlas 6 launch. Launch of the Atlas LV-3B rocket carrying the Friendship 7 spacecraft of the Mercury 6 mission. Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was a manned spaceflight mission conducted by NASA as part of Project Mercury. It was the first American mission to put a human, John Glenn, in Earth orbit. The small Friendship 7 spacecraft (black) on top of the rocket was 2 metres long and only large enough for one crew member. The Launch Escape System tower and rocket (red) are seen above the spacecraft. Photographed at Launch Complex 14, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on 20th February 1962.