Exploring Space Project Mercury

8/9/2019 Exploring Space Project Mercury

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(NASA-TM-85531) E X P L O R I N G SPACE: PROJECTM E R C U R Y (National Aeronautics and SpaceAdniniatration) 16 p Unclas00/12 21249


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Just as ancient man exploredthe sea.s with ships, just as theman of yesterday conquered the.air with balloons and aircraft

So today's man is taking, thefirst of many steps necessary tostudy arid use the space beyondour earth.


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,WEATHEI OISWATION

" N A V I G A T I O N

..IONMCNT STUD IES

Great practical benef i ts fo r m a n k in d have cas the result of the effor ts of the first savia to rs . The comm erce and comm unicmade poss ib le have raised the l i v i n g s tgreat sections of the world .Al ready we can see that s t i l l more benefi tk ind wil l resul t f rom th e peace fu l expspace.

H u n d r e d s of scientif ic rockets firedthe upper a i r have given us mu ch ina b o u t co n d i t i o n s in the atmosphere trol our w eathe r an d radio communThe 100-foot (30.5 meters ) ECHOl aunched by the Un ited S ta tes has showe will be able to use sa te l l i te s to coi n s t a n t l y an d cheap ly an yw here in thTwo TJROS satel l i tes launched by States to s t u d y the weather have givetoward great ly improved weather for all peoples.


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In theseandother first steps into space,the United Stacooperated with scientists and technicians in many pla

BELGIUMBERMUDACANADACHILEEC U A D O RFRANCE

GERMANYINDIAIRANITALYJAPANMEXICONETHERLANDSNEW ZEALANDNIGERIA

NORWAYPERUSOUTH AFRICASPAINSWEDENSWITZERLANDUNITED KINGDOMEAST AFRICA


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BUT THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNINGM . i n \ m o r e steps w i l l b e t a k e n . F o r example , u n t i lm m . information < > n s p a c e h a s b e en o b t a i n e d o n l y b ys c i e n t i f i c i n s t r u m e n t s . N o w , m an h i m s e l f i s prepar-in g t o v e n t u r e i n to space.FIRST STEPSM en a rc c l i m b i n g h ig h e r a n d h i g h e r in b a l l o o n s a n da i r c r a f t . M a n y di f f e r en t m e th o d s f o r send ing m a nh i m s e l f i n to space a re u nd e r s t u d y a nd d e v e lo p m e n t .One o f these is Project M e r cu r y.WHAT IS PROJECT ME RCURY?P r o j e c t M e r c u r y i s a p ro g ra m to send a sm all space-c r a f t , wi th a man aboard, into spaceto have th i s spacecra f t c i rc le th e ear th at a heigh t ofa b o u t 100 mi l e s (100k i lo m e te r s ) am i to b r i ng th i s m an sa f e ly back to ear th .

P ro j ec t M ercury wi l l tes t man's abi l i ty tousefu l ac t iv i t ie s in a weightless space e nv

T O C A R R Y OU T PROJECT MA powerfu l rocke t , th e Atlas , w i l l b e usedm a n n e d spacecraft, or capsule, up in to spaAt a heigh t of 100 miles (160 k i lo m e te r s ) ear th the capsu le wi l l beg in to circle thea speed of 17,400 miles (28,000 ki lomehour.A f t e r c i rc l ing the earth three t im e s th e capb e s lowed down so i t can re tu rn toward ear thA s th e capsule comes closer to ear th it w i l ld o w n even more un t i l i t can be g e n t ly b ros a f e la nd in g at sea.Ships and planes will be w a i t i ng to locate anthe f loat ing c a p s u le and the man ins ide i t .


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T HE MERCURY CAPSULEis shaped like a bell. Its broad bottom part isabout 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide. It stands 10 feet(3 meters) high.

The man who will f ly inside this capsule is called anastronaut. He will wear a special space suit, de-signed to protect him if the capsule develops a leak.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S'> I Y S T I Mt I I S E I V E

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The astronaut will lie on his back at the bthe capsule on a special couch designed to fit This couch, like his space suit, wi l l help hims tand the great pressures o f launching and ttoward earth.A s one of many measures designed to insafe ty of the astronaut, the capsule also has sys tem so the astronaut can safely escaps o me t h i n g go wrong with the rocket at b e g i n n i n g of f light.T hi s escape system consists of a tower placeof the capsule. At the upper end of the torocket. I f something goes wrong with th e Aing the f i rs t moments of the launching, t htower wil l l i f t the capsule of f the big rockesome 2,000 feet (600 meters) into the aparachutes wil l then b e released an d wil lcapsule down to the sea where i t may be recoThe capsule itself is very complicated. Tabout 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) of electric all its instruments.


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Specia l equipm ent wi l l fac i l i ta te the as t ronaut ' sbreathing.R a d i o signals , f lashing l ights , and dyes to color thesea wi l l help ships and a i rplanes to f ind the capsulequickly when it lands.Behind all of this special e q u i p m e n t w i l l be the astro-n a u t , and every m inu te o f h i s f l ight in to space and hisreturn to earth he w i l l be tel l ing us, through his in-s t rum en t s an d equ ipm en t , w ha t it feels l ike to flythrough space.


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WHO ARE THE ASTRONAUTS?Seven volunteers were selected from over a hundredwho wished to take part in this great adventure.Each of the seven volunteers had to be no more than5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall or more than 39years old, and each had to have previous flying ex-perience of 1,500 hours or more. Each had to havea degree in en gin eerin g or its equivalen t. All sevenare marr ied. The astronauts have undergone a very ful lprogram and educat ion in the basic scienc

A great many special devices have been useground to give them experience in han dl ingl ike those to be used in the capsule and inaccustomed to condit ion s as muc h as possthose they ca n expect to meet in space flighave f requen t ly been in condit ions of weighwhich can be created for a few shor t mom encraf t flying on a special high loo ping pathpart icipated in develop ing the space capsule they are to ride.


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TRACKING THE A S T R O N A U Tr e q u i r e s communications wi th al l the s ta t ionsthroughout the wo r l d set up for th is pro ject .M um peop le are cooperating directly in project

M ercury, wi th t racking.mi l communications sta-t ions s e t up in their lan ds :AustraliaM exicoN i g e r i aSpainUni ted KingdomUni ted StatesEast Afr ica

These c o u n t r i e s can par-ticipate because, as it cir-clei the earth, the capsulew i l l pass over them. I twas important to locates t a t i o n s at these places to

keep in c o n s t a n t c o mmu n i c a t i o n wi th the aAlso, th is path wil l permit the capsule tothe At lan t ic Ocean of f the coas t of F lor idais most convenient to prepare fo r s a fe arecovery of the capsule.

BITAL FLIGH

RECOVERY AREA T RAC KIN G AND COMMUNICAT IONS

C O M M U N I E XIST ING


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U N O WHO IS CONDUCTING PROJECT ME

Project M ercury is a program en t i re ly undrection of the Nat ional Aeronaut ics an dmi n i s t r a t i on , a civi l ian agency in the Uniresponsible for space research and explopeaceful purposes to benefi t all m a n k i n d .The p r o g r a m is a very d i f f i c u l t an d experequi r ing assis tance from m a n y dif ferentories , private companies , and other G

The cons t ruct ion of the capsules , for exabeen carried out by a pr ivate company.Pr ivate com panies have cons t ructed and, fopar t , are operat ing the commun i ca t i on s anstat ions overseas.Nava l vessels an d ai rcraf t of the United Sother co un t r ies wi l l help to recover th e caps


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,1 Atlas rockets boost manned sp. capsule from launching pod. Escape tower is jettisoned; speed2 Escape tower is jettisoned. increases to18,000 mph. Capsule is released from the3 Capsu. Atlas. J Blunt end forwardT. attains orbit path

5 Retrograde rockets are fired to. decrease speed for reentry. 6 Small drag parachute stabilizes. space capsule indescent. Main parachute opens to allowgentle descent of capsule. Helicopter recovup astronaut afte


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AN ACTU AL PROJECT MERCURY FLIGHT BOn the day of the flight, the astronauts, thethe At la s rocket, and al l the t r a c k ing an d cc a t io n s s t a t i o n s a ro u n d the w o r ld w i l l b e reT h e Atlas wi l l s tand upon it s l a u n c h i n g paCanavera l in the Uni ted States.The a s t ro na u t w i l l put on his special spaceb u i l d i n g n e a r b y . Then h e wi l l b e takenc o nd i t i o ne d v a n near th e At la s l a u nc h ing pT w o h o u r s be f o re l a u nc h ing h e w i l l ente r thwhich w i l l already be in place on the noAtlas rocket.As in an airplane, he wil l secure h i m s e l f io r couch an d w i l l m a k e f i na l c h e c k s on h ian d co n t ro l sys tems . The a t tendan ts wi l l close the capsule door. Then the a s t ro na uleft alone while the preparations f o r lth e A t l a s c o n t i n u e .W h e n all is ready, the At la s w i l l be fired.


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It will rise slowly at first , then fas ter an d faster.1 1 I lie escape tower is not needed, it will be discarded.W i t h i n .1 m i n u t e s the Atlas will Imr n out, th e cap-sule w i l l he s e p a r a t e d , and now it wil l be in an o r b i ta r o u n d th e ear th, moving at a speed of about 17,400miles (28,000 ki lometers) per hour .Small je ts wi l l beused to turn th ecapsule around sotha t the broad end,equ ipped with aspecial heat shieldto withs tand th efriction of high-

speed travel, is nowf a c i n g fo rw ard .The capsule wil lnow be withoutweight. The forceof th e earth 's grav-ity will b e exactlybalanced by the en-ergy given to thecapsule.


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The astronaut wil l concentrate on repor t ing his posi-t i on , us ing his periscope, maps , tables of f igures, ands top w atches . In his r ight hand wil l b e a cont ro l tokeep the capsule in the correct attitude.H e wi l l t ry to eat and d r i n k to see whether th i s can bedone und er such condi t ions .Far be low h im in the com mu nica t ion s and t rack ingstat ions , ground control lers wil l receive s igna l s f romth e capsule an d wil l watch them care fu l ly to see howthe f l ight is goin g and w hether the a s tro n aut is in goodc o n d i t i o n .Each ground s ta t ion should b e able to ta lk withth e as t ronaut as he passes overhead.The capsule w il l orb i t , or circle, the earth three t imes.Each orb i t wi l l t ake abo ut 90 mi nu t e s .Near the end of the third orbi t , when the capsule isvery near the Cal i f o r n i a coast, three small rocketsf ac ing fo rwa rd wil l be f i red. This wil l cause thecapsule to begin it s descent to earth.

The shield at the blu n t end of the capsule wt he a s t ron au t f rom the very great heat that when th e capsule meets th e heavier air oatmosphere.

P O : 1961 O - 598969


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At a b o u t 20,000 feet ( 6,(XX) meters) a small para-c h u t e w i l l l> ereleased to help slow d o w n the capsuleand to keep it f rom swinging. A t about 10,000 feet(,'i.OOO meters) a large parachute, about 60 feet (18mete r s ) i n diameter.willb e released. This wil l slowthe capsule d o w n to a safe landing speed in the sea.An impact bag will be extended about 4 feet (1m e t e r ) b e l o w the capsule to help take up the shockohhr l a n d i ng i n the sea.S h i p s an d planes w a i t i n g in the Atlan t ic wi l l receivei n f o r m a t i o n f rom control stations about the positionof th e capsule. Then they wil l pick up signalsdirect ly f rom it. They will rush to the landing spot.The capsule will be opened and the astronaut willemerge f rom his f l ight.

W H E N WILL THE FIRST PROJECT MERCURY MANNED FLIGHT TAKETest flights, short of a complete orbit of the earth,have been scheduled during 1961. Th e first flight of a Mercury astronaut completely around m ay take place in the same year or soon t


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Project Mercury will beonly one of many steps insending a man into space.It will be an internationaleffort carried out with thecooperation and efforts ofmany peoples.

The plans, the details, andthe results of Project Mer-cury are open to all. Peo-ples everywhere can sharefreely in theexcitementandadventure of this peacefulresearch and explorationinto space.

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Exploring Space Project Mercury