Project Mercury

This stamp was issued at 3:30 PM on February 20, 1962 to commemorate the first successful orbital space flight by an American astronaut. John Glenn who flew in the Friendship 7 space capsule, was actually the fourth person in space. The Soviet Union had placed two men into earth orbit prior to John Glenn and the United States was trailing in the space race. The Project Mercury stamp was a special project by the Post Office Department. Printed in secret, it was issued only after the successful completion of the mission. If the mission had failed, the stamps would never have been released. They were placed on sale throughout the country at the exact hour John Glenn's historic flight officially ended.