Mercury-Redstone 1

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Test Flight

Suborbital Launch Complex 5 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Mercury-Redstone 1 (MR-1) was the first Mercury-Redstone uncrewed flight test in Project Mercury and the first attempt to launch a Mercury spacecraft with the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle. Intended to be an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight, it was launched on November 21, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch failed in abnormal fashion: immediately after the Mercury-Redstone rocket started to move, it shut itself down and settled back on the pad, after which the capsule jettisoned its escape rocket and deployed its recovery parachutes. The failure has been referred to as the "four-inch flight", for the approximate distance traveled by the launch vehicle.

Redstone

Family:
Configuration: MRLV

The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA's Project Mercury, was the first American manned space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–61; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American (and the second and third humans) in space. The four subsequent Mercury human spaceflights used the more powerful Atlas booster to enter low Earth orbit. A member of the Redstone rocket family, it was derived from the U.S. Army's Redstone ballistic missile and the first stage of the related Jupiter-C launch vehicle; but to human-rate it, the structure and systems were modified to improve safety and reliability.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    25.41 m
  • Diameter
    1.78 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.78 m
  • Launch Mass
    30.0 T
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Redstone
  • Family
  • Variant
    MRLV
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Redstone MRLV
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Mercury No.2


In-active Human Rated Unmanned Crew Capacity: 1
Destination: Suborbital
Serial Number: 2

Mercury No.2 is the Mercury capsule used for the Mercury-Redsone 1 mission which failed on launch.

Mercury Details

Chrysler

Chrysler

(CHR)

Founded: 1950 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

In July 1959, NASA chose the Redstone missile as the basis for the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle to be used for suborbital test flights of the Project Mercury spacecraft. Three unmanned MRLV launch attempts were made between November 1960 and March 1961, two of which were successful. The MRLV successfully launched the chimpanzee Ham, and astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom on three suborbital flights in January, May and July 1961, respectively.

INFO WIKI

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Launch Complex 5


Soyuz 2-1v
Go
1 hour, 52 minutes ago
Kosmos (Unknown Payload)
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Unidentified classified satellite(s) for the Russian military.


Falcon 9
Success
6 hours, 39 minutes ago
WorldView Legion 5 & 6
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

WorldView Legion is a constellation of Earth observation satellites built and operated by Maxar. Constellation is planned to consist of 6 satellites …


New Shepard
Success
13 hours, 52 minutes ago
NS-29
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-29 will simulate the Moon’s gravity and fly 30 payloads, all but one of which is focused on testing lunar-related technologies. The payloads wi…


Falcon 9
Success
19 hours, 37 minutes ago
Starlink Group 12-3
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H3-22
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
Michibiki 6 (QZS-6)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) is a Japanese satellite navigation system operating from inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits to achieve o…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 6 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-4
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 4 hours ago
SpainSat NG I
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

First of two new-generation satellites built by Airbus to provide secure communications to the Spanish government, its allies, and various internatio…


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week ago
IRNSS-1K (NVS-02)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 12-7
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 11-6
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.