Mercury-Redstone 1A


Mercury-Redstone 1A was launched on December 19, 1960 from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission objectives of this unmanned 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 and a range of. The launch vehicle reached a slightly higher velocity than expected -. 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.

Current location

Mercury spacecraft #2, used in both the Mercury-Redstone 1 and Mercury-Redstone 1A missions, is currently displayed at the NASA Ames Exploration Center, Moffett Federal Airfield, near Mountain View, California.

Mercury-Redstone suborbital flight events

T+ TimeEventDescription
T+00:00:00LiftoffMercury-Redstone lifts off, onboard clock starts.
T+00:00:16Pitch ProgramRedstone pitches over 2 deg/s from 90 deg to 45 deg.
T+00:00:40End Pitch ProgramRedstone reaches 45 deg pitch.
T+00:01:24Max QMaximum dynamic pressure ~
T+00:02:20BECORedstone engine shutdown - Booster Engine Cutoff. Velocity
T+00:02:22Tower JettisonEscape Tower Jettison
T+00:02:24Capsule SeparationPosigrade rockets fire for 1 s giving separation.
T+00:02:35Turnaround ManeuverCapsule system rotates capsule 180 degrees, to heat shield forward attitude. Nose is pitched down 34 degrees to retro fire position.
T+00:05:00ApogeeApogee of about reached at downrange from launch site.
T+00:05:15RetrofireThree retrorockets fire for 10 seconds each. They are started at 5 second intervals, firing overlaps. Delta V of is taken off forward velocity.
T+00:05:45Retract PeriscopePeriscope is automatically retracted in preparation for reentry.
T+00:06:15Retro Pack JettisonOne minute after retrofire retro pack is jettisoned, leaving heatshield clear.
T+00:06:20Retro Attitude Maneuver orients capsule in 34 degrees nose down pitch, 0 degrees roll, 0 degrees yaw.
T+00:07:15.05 G Maneuver detects beginning of reentry and rolls capsule at 10 deg/s to stabilize capsule during reentry.
T+00:09:38Drogue Parachute DeployDrogue parachute deployed at slowing descent to and stabilizing capsule.
T+00:09:45Snorkel DeployFresh air snorkel deploys at. switches to emergency oxygen rate to cool cabin.
T+00:10:15Main Parachute DeployMain parachute deploys at. Descent rate slows to.
T+00:10:20Landing Bag DeployLanding Bag Deploys, dropping heat shield down.
T+00:10:20Fuel DumpRemaining hydrogen peroxide fuel automatically dumped.
T+00:15:30SplashdownCapsule lands in water about downrange from launch site.
T+00:15:30Rescue Aids DeployRescue aid package deployed. The package includes green dye marker, recovery radio beacon and whip antenna.