Mercury-Redstone 2

Mercury-Redstone 2
Launch of Mercury-Redstone 2
Mission typeTest flight
OperatorNASA
Mission duration16 minutes, 39 seconds
Distance travelled679 kilometers (422 mi)
Apogee253 kilometers (157 mi)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMercury No.5
ManufacturerMcDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass1,203 kilograms (2,652 lb)
Crew
Crew size1 chimpanzee
MembersHam
CallsignMercury-Redstone 2
Start of mission
Launch dateJanuary 31, 1961, 16:55 (1961-01-31UTC16:55Z) UTC
RocketRedstone MRLV MR-2
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-5
End of mission
Recovered byUSS Donner
Landing dateJanuary 31, 1961, 17:12 (1961-01-31UTC17:13Z) UTC

Ham
Project Mercury
Mercury-Redstone series

Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) was the test flight of the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle just prior to the first crewed American space mission in Project Mercury. Carrying a chimpanzee named Ham on a suborbital flight, Mercury spacecraft Number 5 was launched at 16:55 UTC on January 31, 1961, from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The capsule and Ham, the first great ape in space, landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds after launch.