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On February 20th, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. On
board his Friendship 7 spacecraft was a Minolta Hi-matic camera to record that
historic event. The 4 hour, 55 minute, and 23 second flight orbited the Earth three
times at an average speed of 28,000 kph (17,500 mph).
Mr. Glenn visited our Sakai camera factory in Japan on May
24th, 1963 to plant a palm tree to celebrate the occasion. The
palm tree is still in the courtyard of the factory and stands over
eight meters tall (26ft).
The camera? It was not lost. It is on display at the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in
Washington D.C. This and other objects from John Glenn’s
Friendship 7 Mercury flight can be found in gallery 210,
“Apollo to the Moon.”
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MINOLTA HISTORY