Unmanned Mercury Flights
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-14
Date: 9 September 1959
Time: 08:19 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 13 minutes
Orbits: sub-orbital
Landing:
Date: 9 September 1959
Time: 08:32 UTC
Recovery Vessel: USS Strong
This was to test the ablative heat shield on a boiler plate capsule. There were some issues with the Atlas launch vehicle, but overall the mission as a success. The boiler plate capsule is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-14
Date: 29 July 1960
Time: 13:13 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 58 seconds
This was the first attempt to launch a Mercury capsule. The Atlas rocket suffered structural failure. The capsule did continue to transmit until ocean impact. Pieces of the capsule are on display at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas. The hatch is on display at The American Space Museum in Titusville, Florida.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-5
Date: 21 November 1960
Time: 14:00 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 2 seconds
Landing:
Date: 9 September 1959
Time: 08:32 UTC
The Redstone shut after lifting 4 inches off the pad. The escape tower ignited and the capsule landed by parachute a short distance away. The capsule was on display at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California until 2022.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-5
Date: 19 December 1960
Time: 16:15 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 15 minutes 45 seconds
Orbits: sub-orbital
Landing:
Date: 19 December 1960
Time: 16:30 UTC
Recovery Vessel: USS Valley Forge
The mission was a success. The capsule was on display at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California until 2022. It has been moved to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New Jersey.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-14
Date: 21 February 1961
Time: 14:10 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 17 minutes 56 seconds
Orbits: sub-orbital
Landing:
Date: 21 February 1961
Time: 14:28 UTC
Recovery Vessel: US naval vessel
The mission was a success. The capsule is on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-14
Date: 25 April 1961
Time: 16:15 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 7 minutes 19 seconds
Orbits: sub-orbital
Landing:
Date: 25 April 1961
Time: 16:23 UTC
Recovery Vessel: Marine CH-37 helicopter
The intent was to achieve orbit, but the Atlas began to malfunction 20 seconds into the flight. A self-destruct order was given, the escape tower pulled the capsule away from the exploding rocket, and spent most of its time descending by parachute. The spacecraft was reused on the next flight.
Launch:
Location: Cape Canaveral
Pad: LC-14
Date: 13 September 1961
Time: 14:04:16 UTC
Flight:
Duration: 1 hour, 49 minutes 20 seconds
Orbits: 1
Landing:
Date: 25 April 1961
Time: 15:53:36 UTC
Recovery Vessel: USS Decatur
All mission objectives were achieved.
Page last modified: 11 July 2024 15:46:34.
