Engineering:Beach Abort

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Beach Abort
Color photograph of the test flight of Mercury Spacecraft #1 on May 9, 1960.
Mission typeAbort test
OperatorNASA
Mission duration1 minutes, 16 seconds
Distance travelled1.6 kilometres (1 mi)[1]
Apogee0.80 kilometres (0.5 mi)[1]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMercury No.1
ManufacturerMcDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass1,007 kilograms (2,220 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 9, 1960 (1960-05-09)
RocketMercury LES
Launch siteWallops
End of mission
Landing dateMay 9, 1960 (1960-05-10)
Project Mercury
Abort Tests
 

The Beach Abort was an uncrewed 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.[1] This test took place at NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, test facility. In the test, the Mercury spacecraft and its Launch Escape System were fired from ground level. The flight lasted a total of 1 minute, 16 seconds. The spacecraft reached an apogee of 0.751 kilometres (2,465 ft) and splashed down in the ocean with a range of 0.97 kilometres (0.6 mi). Top speed was a velocity of 436 metres per second (976 mph).[2][3] A Marine Corps helicopter recovered the spacecraft 17 minutes after launch. 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. Total payload weight was 1,154 kilograms (2,544 lb).[3]

Mercury Spacecraft #1 is displayed at the New York Hall of Science, Corona Park, NY. It is displayed indoors, suspended from the ceiling, with an escape tower of unknown provenance attached.[3][4]

Though multiple launch abort tests were designated as "beach aborts," most of which preceded the May 1960 test by nearly a year, the term Beach Abort on its own usually refers to the May 9, 1960 test.

  • Flight of a boilerplate spacecraft and launch escape system from a separate beach abort. In frame 6 the two separate and the spacecraft lands by parachute in frame 10. Flight profile is nearly identical to the May 1960 test.
    Flight of a boilerplate spacecraft and launch escape system from a separate beach abort. In frame 6 the two separate and the spacecraft lands by parachute in frame 10. Flight profile is nearly identical to the May 1960 test.
  • A boilerplate capsule used in a similar beach abort test.
    A boilerplate capsule used in a similar beach abort test.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dumoulin, Jim. "Beach-Abort (7)". https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/beach-abort/beach-abort.html. Retrieved 27 June 2018. 
  2. ↑ Pearlman, Robert (7 May 2010). "NASA's Launch Abort Test Builds on 50 Years of Astronaut Escape Systems". https://www.space.com/8362-nasa-launch-abort-test-builds-50-years-astronaut-escape-systems.html. Retrieved 27 June 2018. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bauduin, Pierre; McDowell, Johnathan. "Mercury BA-1". https://weebau.com/flights/ba1.htm. Retrieved 27 June 2018. 
  4. ↑ "New York Hall of Science Rocket Park Exhibit". Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20080303084309/http://www.nyscience.org/exhibitions/explore_exhibitions/38694. 



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