NASA Mercury-Redstone 4 - Liberty Bell 7 Press Kit

7/23/2019 NASA Mercury-Redstone 4 - Liberty Bell 7 Press Kit

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NEWS R E L E A S E,NATIONAL AERONAUTK=S AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONI S P O H STREET. NORTHWEST . WASHINGTON 2s. 0 . C .TELEPHONES: D U D L E Y 2 - 6 S 2 S E X E CU T IV E S - 3 2 . 0

Cape Canaveral Press Room: Sunset 3-7626J u l y 13, 1961

NOTE TO EDITORS:Attached i s t h e p r e s s kit for t h e second mannedMercury suborbital launch, Kexury-Redstone 4, o r"Libe r ty B e l l . :'Sunday, July 16, 1961.The material i n t h e k i t i s f o r r e l e a se

The k i t conta ins f o u r se c t ions :1 . MR-4 Design Changes2. Mission P r o f i l e3 . Launch Chronology: . GiGcove:-;, Forcen

An a d d i t i o n a l s e t of background pieces i s a v a i l a b l ea t t h e HA S A Hews Center in the S t a r l i t e Motel , Cocoa Beach,Floricia, and a t Y A S A OP I i n idashin&tGn. T h e y are:1. The Ground Crew2 . Astronaut Training Program Summary3. Ins ide the P i lo t ' s C a b in4. "IF" - A Study of Contingency Planningf o r Mercury Mission5. The Launch Vehicle

Telephone numbers a t t h e NASA News Center a t CocoaBeach are: Sunset 3-7626, -79 -8, and -9 and Sunset 3-7620.

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NEWS R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATtONI 5 2 0 H S T R E ET . N O R T H W E S T . W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 . 0 . C .T E L E P H O N E S : D U D L E Y 2 - 6 3 2 5 . E X E C U T I V E 3 - 3 2 6 0

FOR RELEASE: July 16, 1961Sunday A.M,R " ; : L , I ~ S E O, 61-152

biR.-Li DESIGN CHANGESThe United St.atzs w i 1 L attempt; a second manned spaceflight in the next few days.

Then why bo'chcr w i 5 i a second i n mm d suborbital flight?Didn't Astronaut Shepard and a carefully curried spacecraftcalled Freedom 7 prove out the Yercury-Redstone system?Freedom 7 die that and. more. Most importantly, Shepardproved that nar, could. riot o ~ l y xist in space but performuseful tasks there as well. An item-by-item listing of allthe things Mercury-Redstone 3 proved would fill a smalllibrary.That hard-won data, however, mus% stand the test oftime and later flights. Each item becomes a dot on ascientific-engineering knowledge curve. Each flight addssignificantly, if nct historically, to man:s understandingof the strange enviromenf, of space.The MR-4 spacecraft, nicknamed Liberty Bell, will beqGite similar to - h e Freedom 7 craft. It too will weighabout two tons at liftoff; measure six feet across itsblunt bottom and stand nine feet high. It too will befitted out with a 16-foot escape tower; its titaniumpressure cabin housed ir: a "shingled" skin of a temperature-resistant alloy.Most of the ma;:or systems will be the same -environmental control, escape, communications, heat shield,landing apparatus.

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B u t t h e r e also w i l l be s i gn i f i c an t changes i nI i"Liber ty Bel l .not because of any f a i l ing of the Freedom 7 c r a f t b utas dramatic evidence of the conc:wi+eacy concept usedthroughout F r o j e c t &J.ercGrY.

These changes appear i n th e spacec ra f t

T hi s concept finds ilexea?,ch developgent, design,engineering, manufactui-ing and. l ' li.c_;ht e s t p:mceedingsimultaneously i n a n e f f o r t to ac:ii.eve tlie p r o j e c t ' sg o a l s i n t h e s h o r t e s t p o s s i b l e t i m e span. Improve-ments a re in t roduced In t h e product ion l ine a t th ee a r l i e s t f e a s i b l e t i m e but a t a point which w i l l notde lay the f low of prcjduc'cloi? vehicles.Most of the deslgn changes in "L ibe r ty Bell"were p u t into production Inore than (? year ago -many of them suggested by the Mercury as t ronau t ss h o r t l y a f t e r they jo ined the Mercury team more

than two years ago.A yea r ago Freedom 7 was i n t h e advanced pro-duc t ion s tage whi le Liberty Bell had not y e t s t a r t eddown th e production l i n e of McDoia~ellAircraf t Corp. ,NASA's prime contractor Tor Mercury spacec ra f t . Thusi t was poss ib le t o make th e following changes i n t h eL i b er t y B e l l c r a f t , a copy of which i s d e s t i n e d t oc a r r y t h e first American into orbit:WINDOW -- A n enlarged I I p i l o t o5servation window"

replaces two s ix - inch c i r cu la r p r t s used i n Freedom 7.The trapezoid-shaped window measures 19 inches high ,11 inches across t h e base and 74 inches across the t op .It i s l oca ted d i r e c t l y above t h e p i l o t .

The window w i l l be used as a nav iga t iona l a i d ,j u s t as th e spa cec ra f t ' s pe r i scope and in f r a r e d sensingequipment are used.th e horizon, the reby allowing t h e a s t r o n au t t o deter -mine the spac ec r a f t ' s a t t i t u de . With r e f e r ence l inesinscr ibed on th e four-pane window, t h e p i l o t s h o u l dbe able t o hold t h e capsu le p r ec i se ly a t t h e requi red

I t will permit a di r ec t v i ew o f

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34-degree a t t i t u d e f o r f i r i n g o f retFograde (braking)rockets a t the peak of h i s f l i g h t .Obviously the window should provide a b e t t e r viewof the Ea rth, cloud cover and perhaps s ta r s . A t peakt r aj e c to r y, t he p i l o t ' s Earth view, depending on cloudcover, may take i n var iou s Caribbean is la nd s and muchof the United St a t es ' E a s t Coast.PILOT TASKS -- I f a l l goes w e l l , t he MR-4 p i l o twon't have t o work as hard o r as f a s t as d i d Alan B.Shepard, J r . While the MR-4 p i l o t i s programmed t operform many of the same spacec ra ft con t ro l func t ions ,he should have more t ime t o l oo k around inside andouts ide th e capsule.During Shepa rd ' s f i v e minutes of weightle ssf l i g h t , he c a r r i e d o u t many more tasks than are usual lyattempted i n a similar period i n a i r c r a f t f l i g h t t e s twork. For in st an ce , Shepard used the manual controlsystem one axis a t a time: F i r s t pi tc h, then yaw,t he n r o l l . T h i s was done because a p i l o t had nevercon t ro l l ed a c r a f t i n spa ce be f or e . I t was desirablet o a s se s s h i s c a p a b i l i t ie s i n p r e ci s e s teps .Since Shepard encountered no d i f f i c u l t i e s i nth es e maneuvers, th e MR-4 p i l o t w i l l s im ply f l i p aswitch and p u l l a sp ec i a l 'TI' handle on h i s l e f t

console, p lacing a l l three axes of space craf t a t t i t u d ea t h i s command. But a t t h i s poin t , the p i lo t p robab lyw i l l c a l l f o r only one o r two a t t i tu de s h i f t s .

RATE STABILIZATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM -- A f t e rr e t r o f i r e , the p i l o t w i l l switch t o anoth er newsystem of manual control being f l i g h t - t e s t e d f o r t hef i r s t time - Rate S t a b i l i z a t i o n and Control System( R SCS ) .

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In t he s tr ai g ht manual system used i n Shepard 's f l i g h t ,the hand co nt ro l l e r served d i re c t l y t o open and c lose 6 gasj e t s a t the base and neck of the spac ecraf t which tur n thec r a f t a b o u t on i t s axes, This type of con-tral., wh.ile highlyr e l i a b l e , does not o f f e r very precise X;taiieu.ver c m t r o l eI n Liber ty B e l l , the pilot w i l l have the use of asimilar manual control system, He can a l so e l e c t t o sw it ch

t o RSCS. W i t h th e l a t t e r system, t9e pSloSFshand motionsa r e t ra n s la t e d i n t o e l e c t r i c a l s i g m l s w it hi n a "blackbox. These e le c t r i c a l s igna l s then open o r close so lenoidvalves cont ro l l ing t h e gas j e t s , The spa ce cr af t ' s responsew i l l be similar to t h a t of a m3dern high speed a i r c ra f t andshould provide much more precise control,

The MR-4 mission astronaut K L P ~ exerc ise the RateSt ab i l iz a t io n and Contro l System f o r th e f i r s t t ime followingr e t r o f i r e a t about 5-1/2 minutes a f t e r Paunch.on this c o n t r o l mode ford the remainder o f the f l i g h t .

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H e w i l l s tayThe MR-3 capsuie was made t o s p i n slowly, a t 2revolu t ions per minute, ctwing reens;ry 1 c n i s$ "roll ra te"w i l l not be employed i n t h e MR-4 flight,HATCH -- Uglike t h e i ~ e c ~ a ~ ~ i c s l l y - ~ p e r z t e dide hatchon Freedom 7, t he MH-4 spacec ra f t i s equipped w i th a hatchsecured by explos ive bo l t s , just as She pilot's canopy i ssecured i n a high performance al rc rt zf t, , T3e as tr on au tc a n j e t t i so n the hatch by pasking B pllxnger bu t ton in s idethe spacecraf'$ o r 'by pu l l ing a ca9 l e . The hatch may alsobe removed by recovery tezms, The explosive charge hasbeen added as an addi t ional pilot safety device t o in su reeasy and r ap i d escape i n the event of an emergency. When

je t t i soned , the hatch may t r ave l '~ .p o 25 f e e t from thespacec ra f t .INSTRWIENT PANEL -- Major deslgn changes have beenmade i n the MR-4 panel wizh instmment gr,ompfngs functionallyrearranged a t th e suggextiofi of tfie a s t r o n a ut s f o r q u i ck e rand eas ier r e f e r e n c e , I l l u s t r a t i o n s of the MR-3 and MR-4in s t rumen t pane l s a r e ava i l ab le t o i l l u s t r a t e changes.Notable among the changes i s the add i t ion of an enuncia tor(audio warning) panel on the r i g h t ,

s u i t and bio ins t rumenta t ion are the same i n de sig n andfunct ion as equlpment tested dinring the Shepard f l i g h t ,w i t h se ve ra l minor except ions:

ASTRONAUT PERSONAL EQUIPMENT -- The astronaut f l i g h t

(1) Nylon-sealed b a l l bearir,g rings have been f i t t e da t th e glove connections of th e a s t r o n a u t ' s s u i t ,permi t t ing 360 degrees of w r i s t action when t h e s u i ti s in f l a ted . Addf t ion of th e B . F. Goodrich Company--+ -


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developed quick-removal wrist rings required nosuit modifications.(2) New voice tnlcroyhones by Electro-Voice, havebeen included as an integral part of the pilot'splastic helmet.to insure greater reliability and higher qualityperformance by cancelling out the inverter noisewhich reduced the qmlity of voice transmissionson the Freedom 7 flight.

The new microphones are expected

(3) Additional protective foam plastic will cushionthe pilot's helmet in the astronaut's contour flightcouch to reduce ncrZse and vibration during poweredflight.SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT -- A new lightweight, radar-

reflective life raft will be carried in the Liberty Bell.Made of Mylar ( f o r air re tea t ion) and Nylon (for strength),the three-pound, fwr-OT;UEce raft weighs 45 percent lessthan the earlier version. It features three water ballastbuckets fcr flotation stability and a deflatable boarding endwhich may be reinflated by an o r a l inflation tube followingboarding. Developed j o i r . t l y by the NASA's Langley ResearchCenter and the Space Task Groug, management element forMercury, the raft is made of the same material used in Echosatellite balloons, The raft is internatfonal orange, andthe inside has been alwniinised, making it radar reflective.Other MR-4 changes include:(1) Aerodynamic s reanllining of the spacecraft-to-Redstone three-piece cl,mp ring fairing to reduce vibrationsduring transonic flight and "Max Q" (the point at which thehighest airloads are imposed on the Mercury-Redstone This

Little Joe launch f r m Wallops Island, Virginia.with approximately one m2le higher altitude and three milesshorter range than programmed for %he Shepard flight. TheFreedom 7 spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 115 statute miles andlanded 302 statute miles downrange. Winds and last minute programchanges invariably alter slightly the final altitude and distancefigures.advance the qualification of the spacecraft and train astro-nauts for later orbital flights.

design was successfully flight-tested in the March 1 , 1961,

( 2 ) A new launch angle resulting in a flight trajectory

General purpose of the Mercury-Redstone program is to


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Principal objectives of the MR-4 mission are:(1) To familiarize a p i l o t with a brief but completespace flight ex erience, including liftoff, powered flight,weightlessness ]iapproximately 5 minutes), atmospheric reentry,landing, and(2) To further evaluate a pilot's a b i l i t y to perform as

a functional unit during space flight by (a) demonstratiwnual control of the craft during weightless periods, (3using the spacecraft observation window and periscope forattitude reference and recognition of ground check points,and (c) studying man's physiological reactions during spaceflight

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MR-4 Mission P r o f i l e

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- Intensive p i l o t rehearosalsf o r MR-4, using a c t u a l f l i g h t hardware, have been goingon for more than a month.A t t h e same time, the Redstone booster has beenundergoing exha ustive checkout. Sever al weeks ago,boost er and s pac ecr aft were mated on Pad 5.Before any launch, scores of mission s imulationsa r e r un us in g t r a i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s a t Project MercuryHeadquarters, Langley F i e l d , Va . , azd Cape Canaveral.

A t the Cape, a p i l o t c a n " f l y " a Mercury spa cec raf t i na sp ec ia l l y des igned a l t i t ude -pr ess ure chamber i n theMercury hangar.I n p r ep a r a t io n f o r ckraxber ivxs t o space-equivalenta l t i t u d e , p i l o t s are subjected t o p r e f l i g h t p h y s i ca l s ,

equipped w i t h medical sen sor s and ass i s ted i n t o t h e i r 20-pound f u l l - p r e s s u r e s u i t s .About two weeks before launch, three days go i n t os imula ted f l i g h t t e s t s using t h e miss ion spacecraf t a tt h e pad. The medical t r an s f e r van ca r r ie d an as t ronau tand aeromedical attendant from the Mercury hangar t ot h e pad . Wearing h i s f l i g h t gear , a Mercury pilot wentup t h e g a n t r y and e n t e r e d the s p a c e c r a f t . A rea l i s t i ccountdown and simulated Mercury f l i g h t followed w i t hground f l i g h t co n t r o l l e r s a t t h e i r s t a t i o n s .During the ear ly s imulations , t h e gan try remainsaga ins t the veh ic le and the s ide hatch of the spacecra f t

i s no t cl os ed . However, a f i n a l m is sion "d ry run" a tT minus t h ree days includes securing the s id e hatch,purging t h e p i l o t ' s cabin w i t h oxygen and pulling awaythe gan t ry .During th e week preceding f l i g h t , t h e mission w a srehearsed repeatedly, b o t h i n t h e veh ic le and i n aLink-type sp ac ec ra ft sim ula tor (Mercury Procedures Tra ine r)i n th e Mercury Control Center a t t h e Cape. Three daysbefore f l i g h t , two p i l o t s go on a low-residue d i e t .About 7 a.m. t h e day before launch, the f l i g h tcountdown w i l l begin. I t ' s approximately a 12-hourcount which i s broken i n ha l f t o avoid crew fat igue.The i n i t i a l hours a r e la rgely devoted t o spacecra f tchecks. In t h e boos ter, ce r t a i n e lect romechanicalv e r i f i c a t i o n s are made. F i n a l l y th e " b i r d " i s fueledand work i s suspended i n t h e ea r l y a f te rnoon .

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T-155 minutes: The pilot's final briefing isconducted.the Mercury-Redstone.The medScal van will have halted nearFifteen minutes are devoted then to donning his

Anloves and checking his 22essu-c.e uit for leaks.additional five minutes elapse as the pilot and hisattendants go up the gantry.the side hatch and adjusts himself in the contour couch.Communications m d biomedical leads are connected.Restraint harnesses are secured about his shoulderst o r so , and knees. At T-99 minutes, the astronaut'shelmet visor is closed and 'che suit is inflated to5 pounds pe? square inch.is run. Then a button is depressed on the side ofthe pilot's helmet, exhausting suit pressure.

The suit wiil no t be 5i?!:lzbted during the flightunless cabin pressure f a l l s ,a backup "pressure chamber" providing the proper gaseousenvironment to sustain l i f e in t h e e-rent cabin pressurefails.

T-120 minutes: The pilot enters the craft through

Another suit leakage check

So the suit serves as

Installation of the spacecraft's side hatch beginsabout T-80 inutes.f l o w of cold oxygen is fo rced into tke cabin.checks are condu.c+,ed to ixsure that the cabin isTlie operation takes 20 minutes. ALeakage

properly sealed!.the gantry is moved away from the launch vehicle.count proceeds.

T-55 minutes: Spacecraft technicians leave a dThe

T-4 minutes: All spacecraft systems are checked.T-2 m-lnutes: Onboard cameras and tape recorders

Are astronaut serving as capsule communicatorre started.in the blockhouse announces that all Further communicationsbetween the spacecraft and the ground will be.by radio.Freon flow (spacecraft cabln coolant) is stopped.T-35 seconds to lift-off - in rapid sequence:

I!The test conductor announces "Capsule umbilical dropped,Other controller voices announce:Periscope OKVent valves closedme1 tank pressurlzedLOX tank pressurizedVehicle Power


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Boom dropIgn i ti nMain stageL i f t - o f fDuring boosted fLigl i t , t he p i l o t w i l l moni tor care ful lybooster and spacecraft prfomnalzce and ta lk wit'n arotheras t ronaut - th e c aps ule comniunicator i n t h e MercuryControl Center.I f the mission i s no-mal, the Reds5one engine w i l lbe shut down about two and a h a l f ir,inutc?s artex, l i f t -off when th e veh icl e has achieved a meed of some

4900 miles pe r h0u.r.40 degrees. At engine c u t o f f , b o t h the escape rocketand tower je t t ison rocket above the capsule w i l l bef i r e d aut oma tica lly t o remove t he tower.Ten seconds af'te-., engine cu tof f ' , a clamp ringsecur ing b o o s t e r and spa@eci-a?.'t ill be sepxrated.350-pound-thmast so1.3-G pope!.lank r o c k e t s a t t h e base ofthe spacecrac t i r i l l 3c iYiwi t o scpmzte spacecrzft from

Redstone. By now the sprceci-a-Ct i s 35 miles h l g h .At t h e same time,th e a u t o p i l o k swings the spaceci?a-Pt .+l:L-o:inC!s o t he b lun tend i s fommi-d ani"! i l t e d uptmrd 311 Cegrees instead of14 degrees as i n t h e Freedom 7 f l i ~h t .

I t w i l l be climbing a t an angle of

Three

The p i l o t ' s p e ri s co p e ex te nd s.

A t peak a l t i t i tde - abotzt 115 milles - the as t ronau tw i l l be c o n t r o l l i n g t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e c r a f t and w i l lmanually hold the c r a f t a t (211: a t t i t u d e of 34 degrees.This w i l l be th e desix-+?ed tti5uude f o p re tyof' i r e i no r b i t a l f l i g h t s . Although re trorockcts are not neededfor r e e n t r y i n s u b o p bi t al f l i g h t s , they w i l l be f i r e dt o t e s t t h e i r opera t ion i n space and t o p o v l d e p i l o t sw i t h f l i g h t e xp er ie nc e i n c o n t r o l l i n g t h e r e t r o f i r emaneuver. The as t ronaut then w i l l be aSle t o maneuvert h e c r a f t f o r a few miautes before he es tab l i shest h e r e e n t r y a t t i t s d e .

During reentry, the p i l o t w i l l 5ake about 11 g ' s ,roughly twice t h e g-load he gets during the poweredphase of Redstone-boosted f l i g h t .A t 21,000 f e e t , a pressure se ns i t iv e swi tch deploysa drogue parachute and autom. t i ca l ly sc a t te r s radarr e f l e c t i v e " c h a f f . 'A t 10,000 f e e t , t h e a nt en na f a i r i n g a t the neck ofthe spacecraf t releases, deploying t h e main landingparachute. Concurrent w i t h main ch ut e deployment, anunderwater charge i s e jec ted t o a i d r e c o v e 3 f or ce s, th eUHF recoveqr beacon i s tu-Ted on, remaining hydrogenperoxide - f u e l for t h e spacecL-aft contTol system -

i s j e t t i s i o n e d ..(14.


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The pilot may use the periscope or t h e observation windowt o visual ly check h i s p a r a c h u t e . Should the main chute f a i l , hec a n j e t t i so n it and deploy a res erv e landi ng parachute. Duringdescent, valves open to al low outs ide a i r i n t o t h e cabin.Upon landing, a n impact switch je t t is o ns th e main parachute,re le as es f luo res cen t sea-marking dye, t ur ns o f f ins t rumenta t ionrecord ers and tr an sm it te rs . The p i l o t , however, s t i l l has avo ice r ad io l ink t o Mercury recovery forces.The spacecraft w i l l be pi cked up by t h e Mercury RecoveryForces. These include an a i r c r a f t ca rr ie r and two des tro yer s i nth e prime landing ar ea . Search a i r c r a f t w i l l al s o be deployed i nthe prime landing ar ea . Other s h i p s w i l l be deployed along theintended p a t h of f l i g h t to p rovide f o r recovery i n case ofundershoot o r overshoot.I f th e f l i g h t and recovery a re normal, a h e l i c o p t e r w i l l l i f tt h e c r a f t o u t of the water and place i t on t h e c a r r i e r ' s f l i g h tdeck . The p i l o t may elect t o remain i n t h e s p a c e c r a f t u n t i l i ti s on board the ca r r i e r o r climb out th e sp acec raf t s id e hatchand b e picked up by h e l i c o p t e r .


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LAUNCH CHRONOLOGY

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. - Two types of Mercury spacecrafthave been used i n the f l i g h t t e s t program.of shots used fu l l - s ca le boi le ppla te models of t h e capsulet o check out booster-spacecraft intcgr*a.l;ior^and the escapesystem. Second phase of t h e development f i r i n g programused Mercuky capsules built t o production s tandards .

First ser ies

This i s t h e chronology of t e s t f i r i n g s :September 9 , 1959 Dig Jo e. NASA-produced research anddevelopment capsule, launched on an Atlas from Cape Canaveral- - t e s t va li da ti on of t h e Mexvury concept.high heat and a i r loads and w a s successfully recovered.October 4, 1959: L i t t l e Joe 1. Fi red a t NASA's

Wallops Station, VirgZniz, t o check matchllng of boos te rand spacecraft . Eigh t sol id-p rop ell ant rocket s producing250,000 l b . of thrus t drove the veh ic le .

Capsule survived

November 14 1959: Lriktle Joe 2. Also f i r e d fromWallops Station, was an eva lua t ion of the low-a l t i tude abor tcondi t ions .December Ll, 1959: L i t t l e Joe 3. Fired at Wallops

Rhesus moiikey Sam v~as sed as test xu-bject.January 21, 1960: Little Joe 4 . Fired at Wallops

St.at ion t o check high-altitude pei3'oimance o f th e escapesystem.

S t a t i o n t o evaluate the escape system under h igh a i r -loads, using Rhesus monkey Miss Sam as a t e s t s u b j ec t .production capsule and i t s escape rocket system weref i r e d i n an off- the-pad abo r t escape rocket system (capsule 1).

J u l y 29, 1960: Mercury-Atlas 1. T h i s was t h e firstAtlas-boosted f l i g h t , and was aimed a t qua l i fy ing thecapsule under m a x i m u m a i r loa ds and a f te rbodg hea t ing ra teduring r een t ry cond i t ions.escape systems and no t e s t s u b j ec t . Shot was unsuccessfulbecause of booster system malfunction (capsule 4 ) .November 8, 1960: L i t t l e J oe 5. T h i s was an oth er i nthe L i t t l e Joe s e r i e s from Wallops S t a t i o n .sho t was t o check t he production capsule i n an abor t s imulat ingth e most severe L i t t l e Joe booster and th e shot was unsuccessful(capsule 3 ) .

May 9, 1960: Beach Abor t Test. McDonncllrs f i r s t

The capsule contained no

Purpose of the

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November 21, 1960: Mercury-Redstone 1. T h i s was t h ef i r s t unmanned Redstone-boosted f ' l ig l?~ , but premature enginec u t o f f a c t i v a t e d t h e emergency escape system when the boosterwas only about one in,ch o f f the pad.back on t h e pad and was damaged s l i g h t l y . The capsule wasrecovered for re-use (capsule 2 ) .The b o o s t e r s e t t l e d

December 19, I96C: Mercupy-Xedstone 1 A . T h i s s h o twas a repeat o f the November 2 1 attempt and was completelysuc ces sful . Capsule reached a peak a l t i t ud e of 135 s t a t u t emLles, covered a h.orizonta1 dist,mce of 236 s t a t u t e miles andwas recovered successfully (capsule 2 ) .January 31, 1961: Mercury-Redstone 2. T h i s was the-Mercury-Redstone s h o t which ca r r i ed Ham, t h e 37-lb. chimpanzee.The capsule reached 155 s t a t u t e m i le s a l t i t u d e , landed 420,s t a t u t e mil es downrange, and was recovered. During the landingphase, th e parac huting capsul e was d r i f t i n g as i t s t ruck thewater. Impzct of the angled'bilow I?larmed th e suspended h eatshield. against E bu:idle of pokte?. TrJLws, which drove a b o l t

through the pressure b ~ l l ~ l ~ c a d ,ausing the capsule t o leak .Ham was rescued before the capsule had taken on t o o muchwater (capsule 5 ) .boosted capsule sho t was to check m a x i m heating and i t se f f ec t d u r in g t h e worx'c re-ent ry design condit ions . Peaka l t i t u d e was 108 s t a t u t e miles; re-entry angle was higherthan planned and t h e hea5ing vms comespondingly worse thanan t ic ipa ted . It landed 1425 s t a t u t e miles downrange. Maximumspeed was izbout 13,000 mph.

-ebruary 21, ,1961: Mercury-A%las 2. T h i s Atlas-Shot was success fu l (capsule 6 ) .

March 18, 1961: L i t t l e J o e 5 A . T h i s was a repeat ofthe unsuccess fu l L i t5 le Joe 5; i t was f i r e d a t WallopsS ta t io n and w a s only marginally successful (capsu le 1 4 ) .

A r i l 25 -1961: PIercuiy-Atlas 3. T h i s was an Atlas-booste-%--E-o t attempting to orbit t;he capsule w i t h a "mech-anical astroiiau..t" aboard. But 4-0 sec . a f t e r , aunching,t h e b o o s t e r was des t royed by r a d i o command given by t h erange safe ty o f f i c m 0 The capsule was recovered and w i l lbe f i r e d aga in ( cap s ul e 8 ) .A p r i l 28, 1961: L i t b l e J o e 5B. This,was t h e t h i r dattempt t o check the escape systern under worst condi t ions ,us ing a L i t t l e Joe b o o s t e r f i r e d from Wallops Station.Capsule reached 40,000 f t . , and t h i s t i m e the shot wasa complete success (capsule 1 4 ) .May 5. 1961 Mercury-RedsSone 3. This Redstone-boosted s h o t carried Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, J r . ona b a l l i s t i c f l i g h t pa th reaching a p eak a l t i t u d e of 115s t a t u t e m i . and a downmnge distance of 302 s t a t u t e m i .Fl igh t was success fu i (capsule 7) .

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MR-4 RECOVERY OPERATIONSCAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. - Ships, planes, helicopters andground vehicles W i l l be deployed in a r lmber cf areas to pickup the MR-4 spacecraft and pilot,Canaveral, to cover the possibility of a.r, a*xx t while thevehicle is either on o r just off t he pad; near Cape Canaveral,

for an abort during the early stages of flight; and the entireflight path from Cape Canaveral to beyond the predicted landingpoint In case of a late abort.

'I'hese m?a s include Cape

The Task Force assigned to recover the astronaut and space-craft will be under the command of Rear Admiral 3 . L. Chew. Theforces will be made up of units from the Destroyer Force, NavalAir Force, Fleet Marifie Force, Service Force, Mine Force, USAFA i r Rescue Service, and the A i r F G P C ~issile Test Center. Manyof the units have taken par t i n e a r l i e r r e ~ o v e r y xercises.Past experience and close coordination with NASA in the develop-ment of procedures and techniques for safe but expeditiousrecovery have been developed over the past two years.Admiral Chew, Commacder Destroye? Flotilla ZOVR andCommander Project Mercury Recovery Fcrce, will exercise commandof the Recovery Force from the Recovery Corz'crol Room located inthe National Aeronautics ar~dS p c e A?~-flizistrstionMercury ControlCenter at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Taek Force is comprisedof several Task Groups, each under an individual commander.A Task Group dispersed a lmg the t r e c k and in the predictedlanding area will be under the comman9 cbf Rear Adrr.iral J. E.Clark, Commander Carrier Division 16 who will fly his flagin the aircraft carrier USS Randolph (CVS 15). The units ofthis group are:

15) commanded 5y Cape. 1-1. E. Cook, Jr.commanded by Cdr. J. I;. RothermelUSS Kony by Cdr. F. C. Dunham, Jr.USS Conway by Cdr., . N. KellerUSS Strom Cdr. W. D. Mll l a rUSS Lowry by Cdr , 9. P. CarpenterAir support for this group will be pmvided by PatrolSquadron 5 P2V's commanded by Cdr. R. H. Casey, Z r . , USN, andsupplemented with USAF Air Rescue Service Aircraft. Carrier andshore-based helicopters will be provided from the veteran recoveryunit, Marine Air Group 26, commanded by Col. P. T. Johnson, USMC.A group positioned off shore consists of two minecraft and arescue salvage vessel under the command of LCDR J. G. Everett.Another group located at Cape Canaveral consisting of numerous landvehicles and small craft from the Air Force Missile Test Center willbe under the command of Lt. Col. Harry E. Cannon, USAF, of the AirForce Missile Test Center.

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Documents

NASA Mercury-Redstone 4 - Liberty Bell 7 Press Kit