Mercury program Mercury program The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. Originally designed as an ICBM in the late 1950s, the Atlas is today used as a launch platform for commercial and military satellites, and other space vehicles. ...more on Wikipedia about "Atlas (rocket)"
The Beach Abort was an unmanned test in NASA's Project Mercury, of the Mercury spacecraft Launch Escape System. Objectives of the test were a performance evaluation of the escape system, the parachute and landing system, and recovery operations in an off-the-pad abort situation.. The test took place at NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, test facility on May 9, 1960. In the test, the Mercury spacecraft and its Launch Escape System were fired from the ground level. The flight lasted 1-minute 16 seconds and reached an apogee of 2,465 feet (750 m) and a range of 0.6 mile (0.96 km). A Marine Corps helicopter recovered the spacecraft 17 minutes later. Top speed was a velocity of 976 mph (1,571 km/h). The test was considered a success, although there was insufficient separation distance when the tower jettisoned. Mercury spacecraft # 1, the first spacecraft off McDonnell's production line was used in this test. Payload 1,154 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Beach Abort"
Big Joe ( Atlas 10-D) launched an unmanned boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, FL. on September 9, 1959. The objective of "Big Joe" was to test the Mercury spacecraft ablating heatshield. The flight was both a success and failure - the heatshield survived reentry and was in remarkably good condition when retrieved from the Atlantic. The Atlas-D booster, however, failed to stage and separated too late from the Mercury capsule. Due to the added weight of the unseparated booster engines, the sustainer engine depleted its fuel supply 14 seconds early. The boilerplate capsule was not equipped with a launch escape system. ...more on Wikipedia about "Big Joe 1"
(Freedom 7) *Mass: 1,295 kg (apogee) ...more on Wikipedia about "Freedom 7"
When NASA went shopping for a booster to use in the Mercury program they found that the Atlas rockets would cost approximately $2.5 million each and that even the Redstone would cost about $1 million per launching. The managers of the Mercury program recognized from the start that the numerous early test flights would have to be accomplished by a far less expensive booster system. As it turned out, the Little Joe rocket NASA designed, cost about $ 200,000 each. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe"
The Little Joe 1 was a solid fuel rocket that was designed to test the Mercury spacecraft Launch Escape and Recovery systems. It was 48 feet (14.6 m) in height, weighed (at maximum) 41,330 pounds (18,747 kg), was 6.66 feet (2 m) in diameter, consisted of four Pollux and four Recruit clustered, solid-fuel rockets, could develop a thrust of 250,000 lbf (1,112 kN), and could lift a maximum payload of 3,942 pounds (1,788 kg). ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 1"
Little Joe 1A (LJ-1A) was an unmanned rocket launched as part of NASA's Mercury program on November 4, 1959. This flight, a repeat of the Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) launch, was to test a launch abort under high aerodynamic load conditions. After lift-off, the pressure sensing system was to indicate when the correct abort dynamic pressure was reached. This should have happened about thirty seconds after launch. A signal was sent to the explosive bolts to separate the spacecraft from the launch vehicle. Up to this point, everything was going as planned. The impulse was also intended to ignite the escape motor. The motor was ignited, but it took a number of seconds to build up thrust, and thus the abort maneuver was not accomplished at the desired dynamic pressure. Because of this, a repeat of the test was planned. Other events from launch through recovery occurred without incident. An altitude of 9 statute miles (14.5 km) and a range of 11.5 statute miles (18.5 km) were obtained, and a speed of 2,021.6 miles per hour (3,254 km/h) was reached. Flight time 8 minutes 11 seconds. Payload 1,007 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 1A"
The Little Joe 1B was a Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft. The mission was launched January 21, 1960, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 1B flew to an apogee of 9.3 statute miles (15.0 km) and a range of 11.7 miles (18.9 km) out to sea. Miss Sam survived the 8 minute 35 second flight in good condition. The spacecraft was recovered by a Marine helicopter and returned to Wallops Island within about 45 minutes. Maximum speed was 2,055 mph (3,307 km/h) and acceleration was 4.5 g (44 m/s²). Miss Sam was one of many Monkeys in space. Payload 1,007 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 1B"
The Little Joe 2 was an important test of the Mercury capsule because it was the first Little Joe animal flight, carrying the Rhesus monkey Sam (Macaca mulatta) close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans. His flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 from Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. The Little Joe 2 flew 55 miles (88 km) into space. It was recovered, with the monkey intact, in the Atlantic Ocean by USS Borie. Sam was one of a series of Monkeys in space. Sam was from the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. Flight time 11 minutes 6 seconds. Payload 1,007 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 2"
Little Joe 5 was an unmanned Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission used a production Mercury spacecraft # 3. The mission was launched November 8, 1960, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 2 flew to an apogee of 10.1 miles (16.2 km) and a range of 13 miles (20.9 km). The mission lasted 2 minutes 22 seconds. Maximum speed was 1,785 mph (798 m/s) and acceleration was 6 g (58.8 m/s²). The mission was a failure and Mercury spacecraft # 3 was destroyed. Payload 1,141 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 5"
Little Joe 5A was an unmanned Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission used production Mercury spacecraft # 14. The mission was launched March 18, 1961, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 5A flew to an apogee of 7.7 miles (12 km) and a range of 18 miles (29 km). The mission lasted 5 minutes 25 seconds. Maximum speed was 1,783 mph (2869 km/h) and acceleration was 8 g (78 m/s²). The mission was a success and Mercury spacecraft # 14 was recovered. Mass 1,141 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 5A"
Little Joe 5B was an unmanned Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission used production Mercury spacecraft # 14A. The mission was launched April 28, 1961, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 5B flew to an apogee of 2.8 miles (4.5 km) and a range of 9 miles (14 km). The mission lasted 5 minutes 25 seconds. Maximum speed was 1,780 mph (2865 km/h) and acceleration was 10 g (98 m/s²). The mission was a success and Mercury spacecraft # 14A was recovered. Mass 1,141 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 5B"
The Little Joe 6 was a Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission used a boilerplate Mercury spacecraft. The mission was launched October 4, 1959, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 6 flew to an apogee of 37 miles and a range of 79 miles. The mission lasted 5 minutes 10 seconds. Maximum speed was 3,075 mph and acceleration was 5.9 g (58 m/s²). Payload 1,134 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Little Joe 6"
Maxime "Max" A. Faget ( August 26 1921 – October 9 2004) was an American engineer. He was the designer of the Mercury capsule, as well as contributing to the later NASA Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and also the Space Shuttle. ...more on Wikipedia about "Maxime Faget"
shortopedia, there's no better way.
Mercury 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury 4"
(Mercury 8) * Mass:1370 kg ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury 8"
(Mercury 9) * Mass: 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury 9"
(Mercury Atlas 6) * Mass: 1,352 kg ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury Atlas 6"
* Mass: 2975 lb (1350 kg) ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury Atlas 7"
Mercury- Atlas 1 (MA-1) was launched at 13:13 UTC on July 29, 1960 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury spacecraft was unmanned and carried no launch escape system. The mission was to do a suborbital test flight and reentry of the spacecraft. The capsule had live posigrade separation rockets, but dummy retro rockets. The Atlas rocket suffered a structural failure 58 seconds after launch. The vehicle at that time was at approximately an altitude of 30,000 feet (9.1 km) and 11,000 feet (3.4 km) down range. The rocket suffered a failure near where the spacecraft adapter attaches to the Atlas. The rocket and capsule impacted the Atlantic Ocean, broke up and sank. The capsule and portions of the rocket were recovered from the ocean bottom and reconstructed for study. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Atlas 1"
Mercury- Atlas 2 (MA-2) was launched unmanned on February 21, 1961 at 14:10 UTC, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Test objectives for this flight were concerned with the ability of the spacecraft to withstand reentry under the temperature-critical abort conditions and with the capability of the Atlas to meet the proper injection conditions. This Atlas "D" modified for the Mercury mission, was unique in the program in that it incorporated a stainless steel reinforcing band installed around the vehicle between stations 502 and 510. A thin sheet of asbestos was installed between the reinforcing band and the tank skin. This modification was installed as a precaution against the type of failure which had occurred on the previous MA-1 flight. MA-2 flew a successful suborbital mission that lasted 17 minutes 56 seconds. Altitude reached was 114 miles (183 km), speed, 13,227 mph (21,287 km/h). All test objectives were fully met. The capsule was recovered 1,432 miles (2305 km) downrange. Peak acceleration was 15.9 g (156 m/s²). Mass 1,154 kg. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Atlas 2"
Mercury- Atlas 3 (MA-3) was launched unmanned on April 25, 1961 at 16:15 UTC, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission was terminated by the range safety officer after approximately 43.3 seconds due to failure of the launch vehicle to follow its roll and pitch programs. Although the launch-vehicle was destroyed as a result of a malfunction, considerable benefit was derived from the flight test. The launch escape system saved the Mercury spacecraft from destruction. The capsule flew to an apogee of 7.2 km and downrange only 1.8 km. The flight of the MA-3 capsule lasted 7-minutes and 19-seconds, most of it descending on its parachute. The spacecraft was recovered some 20 minutes after launch and reused on the next flight. Capsule weight: 1,179 kg ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Atlas 3"
Mercury-Atlas 4 was an unmanned spaceflight of the Mercury program. It was launched on September 13, 1961 at 14:09 UTC from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A Crewman Simulator instrument package was aboard. The craft orbited the Earth once. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Atlas 4"
Mercury-Atlas 5 was an American unmanned spaceflight of the Mercury program. It was launched on November 29, 1961 with Enos, a chimpanzee, aboard. The craft orbited the Earth twice and splashed-down off the coast of Puerto Rico, a territory associated with the United States in the eastern Caribbean. Enos was unharmed. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Atlas 5"
(Mercury-Jupiter) The Jupiter missile was proposed as a suborbital launch vehicle ...more on Wikipedia about "Mercury-Jupiter"
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