mr-4 press kit

8/9/2019 MR-4 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"Li be r t y B e l l . :'Sunday, July 16, 1961.The materia l 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 SA 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. I n s ide the P i l o t ' s Cabin4. "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 0FOR RELEASE: July 16, 1961Sunday A.M,

R " ; : L , I ~ S E O, 61-152biR.-Li DESIGN CHANGES

The 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 m m 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 ig n i f i ca n t changes i nI i"Liberty 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 t h e spacec ra f t

T h i s concept finds ilexea?,ch developgent, design,engineering, manufactui-ing and. l ' li.c_;ht e s t p:mceedingsimultaneously i n an 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 sh o r t e s t p o s s i b le t i m e span. Improve-ments a re in troduced 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 po in t which w i l l notdelay the f low of prcjduc'cloi? vehicles.Most of the deslgn changes in "Liber ty Bell"were p u t into production Inore than (? year ago -many of them suggested by the Mercury as t ronau t ssh o r t l y a f t e r they jo ined the Mercury team more

than two years ago.A year ago Freedom 7 was i n t h e advanced pro-duct ion s tage whi le Liberty Bell had not y e t s t a r t e ddown th e production l i ne 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 followi ng changes i n t h eL i b e r t y B e l l c r a f t , a copy of which i s d e s t i ne 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 top .It i s loca 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 the spa cec ra f t ' s pe r i scope and in f r a re d sensingequipment are used.th e horizon, thereby allowing t h e a s t r on a u t t o de te r -mine th e s p a c e c r a f t ' s a t t i t u d e . With r e fe rence l inesinscr ibed on th e four-pane window, t h e p i lo t shou ldbe able t o hold t h e capsu le p rec i se ly a t t h e required

I t will permit a d i rec t v iew 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 rs . 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 Shepard ' 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, placing 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( RSCS ) .

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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 of the f l i g h t .

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He 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 exh aus tive checkout. Sev eral weeks ago,boo ster and sp ace cra ft were mated on Pad 5.Before any launch, scores of mission simulationsa 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 spac ecr aft i na sp ec ia l l y designed al t i t ud e- pr es su re chamber i n theMercury hangar.In p repa ra t ion 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 pre f l i g h t physi c al s ,

equipped w i t h medical s en so rs and ass i s ted i n t o t h e i r 20-pound fu l l -p re ssure 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 mission spacecraft a tt h e pad. The medica l t ransfer van carr ied an as t ronautand 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 he 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 gh t con t ro l l e r s a t t h e i r s t a t i o n s .During the ear ly simulat ions, t h e gantry remainsaga ins t t he veh ic l e and the s ide hatch o f the spacec ra f ti s no t cl os ed . However, a f i n a l m is si on "d ry run" a tT minus three days includes securing the s i d e hatch,purging t h e p i l o t ' s cabin w i t h oxygen and pulling awaythe gant 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 th e vehic le and i n aLink-type sp ace cr aft simu lato r (Mercury Procedures Trai ner)i n th e Mercury Control C enter 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 fatigue.The i n i t i a l h ours a r e l a r ge ly devoted t o spacec ra f tchecks. In th e booster , ce rt a i n e lectromechanicalv 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 fue ledand work i s suspended i n t h e ea r ly a f te rnoon .

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Here i s t h e Mercury-Redstone rocket a t a glance:Weight -- 33 t ons a t l i f t o f f , i ncl udi ng s pa c ec ra f t.Height -- 58 f e e t ; w i t h spacecraf t , 83 f e e t . Thrus t --78,000 pounds. Propellants -- Fuel, '75 p e r cen t e thy lalcohol and 25 pe r c e nt water; oxidizer , l i qu id oxygen(temperature of which i s -297 degrees F . ) .development and design by NASA ' s Marshall Space FlightCenter, Huntsvil le, Ala. , and launched by MSFC I s LaunchOperations Di rec tor ate . Major Redstone co nt ra ct or s --Chrysler Corp. , North h e r i c a n Aviat ion, Inc . andSperry Rand C o r p .

Rocket

The count resumes about midnight i f the weatherappears favorable . F i r s t b i g i te m i n t h e l a s t hal fof t h e " s p l i t " count 1s loxing -- loading l iquid oxygeni n t o the Redstone.A t 1 a.m., th e l i g h t s w i l l go on i n the crewqua r t e r s on th e second floor of the Mercury hangar.After a shower and a shave, t h e p i l o t w i l l havebreakfas t . He will have a wide se l e c t io n of t h ingst o eat , pos sibl y s teak, s t rawber ries , cookies andskim milk.Forty minutes a f t e r he i s wakened, he w i l l begiven a p r e - f l i g h t physical. About 35 minutesw i l l be spent p lac ing medica l sensors aga in s t t a t too edreference marks on h i s body. Then he c l i mb s i n t oh i s p r e s s u r e s u i t .T-170 minutes: The as t ronaut l eaves th e hangari n a medical van, to ge th er w i t h a procession of escortvehicles and begins t h e 15-minute t r i p t o the launchings i t e .The a s t r o n a u t ' s s u i t w i l l be purged w i t h oxygen duringt h e t r an sf er per iod, and as t h e p i l o t relaxes i n a r e c l i n -in g couch, continu ous medical data will be observed a tt r a i l e r consoles .


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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 hisAnloves and checking his 22essu-c.e uit for leaks.additional five minutes elapse as the pilot and his

attendants 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 s o , 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 n o 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 dTheT-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 dropI g n iti 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 ca re fu l 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 some4900 mile s 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 automat ica l ly t o remove the tower.Ten seconds af'te-., engine cutof 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 the 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 th e 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 r is c o pe ex te nd s.

A t peak al 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 re i no r b i t a l f l i g h t s . Although re t rorockcts are not neededfor r e e n t r y i n s u b o pb i ta l 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 the g-load he ge ts during the poweredphase of Redstone-boosted f l i g h t .A t 21,000 feet , a pre s su re se ns i t i ve swi t ch 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 oft he spacec ra f t releases, deploying th e main landingparachute. Concurrent w i t h main ch ut e deployment, anunderwater charge i s e jec t ed t o a i d r e c o v e 3 f o rc es , th eUHF recov eqr beacon i s tu-Ted on, remain ing hydrogenperoxide - f u e l for the spacecL-aft contTol system -i s j e t t i s i o n e d .

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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 provide 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 sho t s used fu l l - s ca le bo i 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 product ion 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 Joe . NASA-produced r ese a rch anddevelopment capsule, launched on an Atlas from Cape Canaveral- - t e s t va li da ti on of t h e Mexvury concept.h igh heat and a i r loads and w a s successful ly 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 boosterand spacecraf t . Ei gh t so l id -propel lan t rockets producing250,000 l b . of th rus t d rove 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 th e 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 the escapesystem.

S t a t i o n t o eva lua te th e e scape system under high a i r -loads, using Rhesus monkey Miss Sam as a t e s t su b j e c t .production capsule and i t s escape rocket system weref i r e d i n an off- the-pad ab o 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 th ecapsule under m a x i m u m a i r loa ds and a f t e rbodg hea t ing r a teduring r een t ry cond i t ions.escape systems and no t e s t su b j e c 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 a n ot h 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 .s h o t was t o check t he production capsule i n an abor t s imula t 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 sfu l. 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 successful ly (capsule 2 ) .January 31, 1961: Mercury-Redstone 2. T h i s was the-Mercury-Redstone s h o t which c a r r i e d 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 , la nde d 420,s t a t u t e mil es downrange, and was recovered. During the landingphase, th e parac huting capsu le 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 heatshield . against E bu:idle of pokte?. TrJLws, which drove a b o l t

through th e 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 e c t d u r i n 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-en t ry angle was higherthan planned and t h e hea5ing vms comespondingly worse thanan t i c 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 successfu 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 WallopsSta t io n and w a s only marginal ly successfu l (capsule 1 4 ) .

A r i l 25 -1961: PIercuiy-Atlas 3. T h i s was an Atlas-booste-%--E-o t at tempting to orbit t;he capsule w i t h a "mech-anical astroiiau..t" aboard. But 4-0 s e c . 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 a ga in ( c ap su le 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 dat tempt 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 e a k 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 successfu 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 l m g 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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mr-4 press kit

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