 Mercury spacecraft #2, used on both the MR-1 and MR-1A flights, on display at NASA Ames Exploration Center. | |
| Mission type | Test flight |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | 15 minutes, 45 seconds |
| Distance travelled | 378.2 kilometers (235.0 mi) |
| Apogee | 210.3 kilometers (130.7 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Mercury No.2 |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Aircraft |
| Launch mass | 1,230 kilograms (2,720 lb)[1][note 1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | December 19, 1960, 16:15 UTC |
| Rocket | Redstone MRLV MR-3 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-5 |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | USS Valley Forge |
| Landing date | December 19, 1960, 16:30 UTC |
Mercury-Redstone 1A (MR-1A) was launched on December 19, 1960 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission objectives of this uncrewed suborbital flight were to qualify the spacecraft for space flight and qualify the system for an upcoming primate suborbital flight. The spacecraft tested its instrumentation, posigrade rockets, retrorockets and recovery system. The mission was completely successful. The Mercury capsule reached an altitude of 130 miles (210 km) and a range of 235 miles (378 km). The launch vehicle reached a slightly higher velocity than expected - 4,909 miles per hour (7,900 km/h). The Mercury spacecraft was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean by recovery helicopters about 15 minutes after landing. Serial numbers: Mercury Spacecraft #2 was reflown on MR-1A, together with the escape tower from Capsule #8 and the antenna fairing from Capsule #10. Redstone MRLV-3 was used. The flight time was 15 minutes and 45 seconds.
- ^ 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).