An almost day by day account of how we achieved manned orbital flight.

Here

Here’s a sample:

1962 February 20 – . 14:47 GMT – . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC14. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas D. LV Configuration: Atlas D 109D.
Mercury MA-6 – . Call Sign: Friendship 7. Crew: Glenn. Backup Crew: Carpenter. Payload: Mercury SC13. Mass: 1,355 kg (2,987 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Glenn; Carpenter. Agency: NASA. Program: Mercury. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Mercury MA-6. Spacecraft: Mercury. Duration: 0.21 days. Decay Date: 1962-02-20 . USAF Sat Cat: 240 . COSPAR: 1962-Gamma-1. Apogee: 265 km (164 mi). Perigee: 159 km (98 mi). Inclination: 32.5000 deg. Period: 88.60 min. First US manned orbital mission. John Glenn finally puts America in orbit. False landing bag deploy light led to reentry being started with retropack left in place on heat shield. It turned out that indicator light was false and a spectacular reentry ensued, with glowing chunks of the retropack whizzing by the window. After four hours and 43 minutes the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere and landed at 2:43 pm EST in the planned recovery area NE of the Island of Puerto Rico. All flight objectives were achieved. Glenn was reported to be in excellent condition. Beause of failure of one of the automatic systems, the astronaut took over manual control of the spacecraft during part of the flight. With this flight, the basic objectives of Project Mercury had been achieved.