Mercury

In-active Human Rated Capsule Crew Capacity: 1 Diameter: 1.8 m Height: 3.3 m

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May 5, 1961

Human transportation to upper Earth atmosphere and low Earth orbit.

Flight Life

Between 15 minutes and 3 days.

Description

The Mercury spacecraft's principal designer was Maxime Faget, who started research for manned spaceflight during the time of the NACA. With 100 cubic feet (2.8 m3) of habitable volume, the capsule was just large enough for a single crew member. Inside were 120 controls: 55 electrical switches, 30 fuses and 35 mechanical levers. The heaviest spacecraft, Mercury-Atlas 9, weighed 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) fully loaded. Its outer skin was made of René 41, a nickel alloy able to withstand high temperatures.

History

The Mercury spacecraft was the manned capsule used for suborbital and orbital launches during the Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight program of the United States, from 1958 through 1963.



Falcon 9
Success
8 hours, 13 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-58
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Space Launch System (SLS)
Success
21 hours, 33 minutes ago
Artemis II
Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 10-44
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 9 hours ago
Transporter 16 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Kinetica 2
Success
3 days, 9 hours ago
Demo Flight (Qingzhou Prototype Spacecraft)
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

First test launch and mission of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 rocket, with 3 spacecraft on board: * New March 02 (Qingzhou space station cargo resupply …


Electron
Success
5 days, 10 hours ago
Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

The European Space Agency (ESA)'s LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) demonstrator mission will feature a 10-satellite const…


Long March 2C/YZ-1S
Success
6 days, 15 hours ago
Shiyan 33
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese satellite reported to be for "space environment research" purposes. Actual usage not known.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 21 hours ago
Starlink Group 17-17
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week ago
SuperView Neo 2-05 & 06
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Commercial Synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
16 x Rassvet-3
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

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