.jpg) Mercury-Redstone 2 launch carrying Ham, a chimpanzee, on 31 January 1961. | |
| Function | Human-rated sub-orbital launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Chrysler Corporation |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 25.41 m (83.38 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.78 m (5.83 ft) |
| Mass | 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) |
| Stages | 1 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to sub-orbital trajectory | |
| Mass | 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Launch Complex 5, Cape Canaveral, Florida |
| Total launches | 6 |
| Success(es) | 5 |
| Failure(s) | 1 |
| First flight | 21 November 1960 |
| Last flight | 21 July 1961 |
| Type of passengers/cargo | Mercury spacecraft |
| Single stage | |
| Powered by | 1 Rocketdyne A-7 |
| Maximum thrust | 350 kN (78,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 215 s (2.11 km/s) |
| Burn time | 143.5 s |
| Propellant | LOX/ethyl alcohol |
The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American crewed space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–1961; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American (and the second and third humans) in space. The four subsequent Mercury human spaceflights used the more powerful Atlas booster to enter low Earth orbit.
A member of the Redstone rocket family, it was derived from the U.S. Army's Redstone ballistic missile and the first stage of the related Jupiter-C launch vehicle; but to human-rate it, the structure and systems were modified to improve safety and reliability.