Mercury-Redstone 1

Mercury-Redstone 1
MR-1 launching the escape rocket.
Mission typeTest flight
OperatorNASA
Mission duration2 seconds
Launch failure and failed to orbit
Apogee4 inches (10 cm)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMercury No.2
ManufacturerMcDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass1,230 kilograms (2,720 lb)[1][note 1]
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 21, 1960, 14:00 (1960-11-21UTC14Z) UTC
RocketRedstone MRLV MR-1
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-5

Mercury-Redstone 1 (MR-1) was the first Mercury-Redstone uncrewed flight test in Project Mercury and the first attempt to launch a Mercury spacecraft with the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle. Intended to be an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight, it was launched on November 21, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch failed in an abnormal fashion: immediately after the Mercury-Redstone rocket started to move, it shut itself down and settled back on the pad, after which the capsule jettisoned its escape rocket and deployed its recovery parachutes. The failure has been referred to as the "four-inch flight", for the approximate distance traveled by the launch vehicle.[2]

  1. ^ Korando, R. D. (February 6, 1961). Mercury Capsule No. 2 Configuration Specification (Mercury-Redstone No. 1) (PDF). St. Louis, Missouri: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. pp. 7–9. Report number NASA-CR-137390.
  2. ^ "MR-1: The Four-Inch Flight", p. 293.


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