Mercury-Redstone 1
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| Mercury Redstone 1 | |||||
Mission insignia |
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| Mission statistics | |||||
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| Mission name | Mercury Redstone 1 | ||||
| Spacecraft mass | 1,211 kilograms (2,670 lb) | ||||
| Crew size | Unmanned | ||||
| Booster | Redstone | ||||
| Launch pad | LC-5 (CCAFS) | ||||
| Launch date | November 21, 1960, 14:00 GMT | ||||
| Landing | November 21, 1960, 14:00 GMT | ||||
| Mission duration | 2 Seconds | ||||
| Number of orbits | Suborbital | ||||
| Apogee | 100 millimetres (3.9 in) | ||||
| Peak acceleration | 9.8 m/s² (1 g) | ||||
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Mercury-Redstone 1 (MR-1) was launched on November 21, 1960 from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was to be an unmanned suborbital flight. This was the first launch attempt for the Mercury-Redstone combination.
The Redstone's engine cut out about 1 second after lift-off. The launch failure was caused by a booster tail plug that had one of its prongs filed down. The engine shut itself off during the brief period while one prong had pulled out and the other hadn't pulled out completely due to its longer length. The rocket rose about 4 inches (100 mm) then settled back onto the launch pad and did not explode. An odd series of events then took place.
The Launch Escape System sensed the booster cutoff and fired the main escape rockets. At the same time, it thought booster cutoff was a signal to jettison itself, so it released the Mercury capsule. As a result the Escape Rocket launched itself to a 4,000 ft (1,220 m) apogee and landed 400 yards (365 m) away, but the capsule stayed behind on the rocket. The Mercury spacecraft sensed escape system jettison, but thought it been pulled away from an exploding booster and was falling. Three seconds after the escape rocket fired, the spacecraft ejected its radio canister and deployed its drogue, main and reserve parachutes.
In the end, a fully fuelled, slightly wrinkled Redstone booster sat on the launch pad, with live batteries and pyrotechnics. On top of it sat a Mercury capsule with live batteries and more pyrotechnics and main and reserve parachutes hanging down the side of the rocket, threatening to tip the Redstone over if they caught enough wind. All that was launched was the escape tower. The rocket was damaged and could not be reused. Technicians had to wait until flight batteries ran down, the morning of November 22, before approaching the rocket. Serial numbers: Redstone MRLV-1, Mercury spacecraft # 2.
Mercury Spacecraft # 2 together with the escape tower from Capsule # 8, and the antenna fairing from Capsule # 10 were reflown on MR-1A. A new Redstone was used, MRLV-3.
[edit] Current location
Mercury spacecraft # 2 used in the Mercury-Redstone 1 and Mercury-Redstone 1A missions, is currently displayed at the Exploration Center at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, California. The Redstone rocket is currently on display at US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL.
 
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[edit] References
- This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201
- NASA NSSDC Master Catalog
- Exploration Center at NASA Ames Research Center
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