Engineering:Mercury-Redstone 1A

Short description: Uncrewed suborbital test-flight of the Mercury spacecraft

Mercury-Redstone 1A

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)
Start of mission
Launch date	December 19, 1960, 16:15 (1960-12-19UTC16:15Z) UTC
Rocket	Redstone MRLV MR-3
Launch site	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 5
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Valley Forge
Landing date	December 19, 1960, 16:30 (1960-12-19UTC16:31Z) UTC
Project Mercury

Mercury-Redstone 1A (MR-1A) was launched on December 19, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 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.

Mercury-Redstone suborbital flight events

MR-1A Launch

T+ Time	Event	Description
T+00:00:00	Liftoff	Mercury-Redstone lifts off, onboard clock starts.
T+00:00:16	Pitch Program	Redstone pitches over 2 deg/s from 90 deg to 45 deg.
T+00:00:40	End Pitch Program	Redstone reaches 45 deg pitch.
T+00:01:24	Max Q	Maximum dynamic pressure ~575 lb/sq ft (27,500 Pa)
T+00:02:20	BECO	Redstone engine shutdown - Booster Engine Cutoff. Velocity 5,200 mph (8,400 km/h)
T+00:02:22	Tower Jettison	Escape Tower Jettison
T+00:02:24	Capsule Separation	Posigrade rockets fire for 1 s giving 15 ft/s (4.6 m/s) separation.
T+00:02:35	Turnaround Maneuver	Capsule (ASCS) system rotates capsule 180 degrees, to heat shield forward attitude. Nose is pitched down 34 degrees to retro fire position.
T+00:05:00	Apogee	Apogee of about 115 miles (185 km) reached at 150 miles (240 km) downrange from launch site.
T+00:05:15	Retrofire	Three retrorockets fire for 10 seconds each. They are started at 5 second intervals, firing overlaps. Delta V of 550 ft/s (170 m/s) is taken off forward velocity.
T+00:05:45	Retract Periscope	Periscope is automatically retracted in preparation for reentry.
T+00:06:15	Retro Pack Jettison	One minute after retrofire, retro pack is jettisoned, leaving heatshield clear.
T+00:06:20	Retro Attitude Maneuver	(ASCS) orients capsule in 34 degrees nose down pitch, 0 degrees roll, 0 degrees yaw.
T+00:07:15	.05 G Maneuver	(ASCS) detects beginning of reentry and rolls capsule at 10 deg/s to stabilize capsule during reentry.
T+00:09:38	Drogue Parachute Deploy	Drogue parachute deployed at 22,000 ft (6,700 m) slowing descent to 365 ft/s (111 m/s) and stabilizing capsule.
T+00:09:45	Snorkel Deploy	Fresh air snorkel deploys at 20,000 ft (6,100 m). (ECS) switches to emergency oxygen rate to cool cabin.
T+00:10:15	Main Parachute Deploy	Main parachute deploys at 10,000 ft (3,000 m). Descent rate slows to 30 ft/s (9.1 m/s).
T+00:10:20	Landing Bag Deploy	Landing Bag Deploys, dropping heat shield down 4 ft (1.2 m).
T+00:10:20	Fuel Dump	Remaining hydrogen peroxide fuel automatically dumped.
T+00:15:30	Splashdown	Capsule lands in water about 300 miles (480 km) downrange from launch site.
T+00:15:30	Rescue Aids Deploy	Rescue aid package deployed. The package includes green dye marker, recovery radio beacon and whip antenna.

Current location

Mercury spacecraft #2, used in both the Mercury-Redstone 1 and Mercury-Redstone 1A missions, was displayed at the NASA Ames Exploration Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, near Mountain View, California until 2022 when it was relocated to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, NY.

See also

• Splashdown

References

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

• This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201

External links

• "Space Progress: 'Man-In-Space' Capsule Recovery Successful", a December 22, 1960 Universal-International newsreel briefly covering the Mercury-Redstone 1A mission. Courtesy of the Internet Archive.
• Mercury spacecraft #2 display page on "A Field Guide to American Spacecraft" website.