Mercury Atlas 2
| Mission dates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission: | Mercury Atlas 2 (MA-2) | ||
| COSPAR-ID : | MERCA2 | ||
| Spacecraft: | Serial number 6 | ||
| Launcher: | Atlas D 67-D | ||
| Begin: | February 21, 1961, 14:10 UTC | ||
| Starting place: | LC-14 , Cape Canaveral | ||
| Landing: | February 21, 1961, 14:28 UTC | ||
| Landing place: | Atlantic | ||
| Flight duration: | 17min 56s | ||
| Earth orbits: | suborbital flight | ||
| Apogee : | 183 km | ||
| Covered track: | 2,305 km | ||
| Maximum speed: | 21,287 km / h | ||
| Maximum acceleration: | 15.9 g | ||
| Start photo | |||
 Launch of Mercury Atlas 2 |
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| ◄ Before / After ► | |||
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Mercury-Atlas 2 (MA-2) was an unmanned, suborbital test flight as part of the Mercury program .
The main aim of this mission was to test the re-entry behavior of the capsule under the worst flight abort conditions. In addition, the Atlas missile should show that it could reach the required target coordinates. A special atlas was used for this purpose, only used for this mission. It had a special reinforcement strap to prevent failure like the previous Mercury-Atlas 1 flight .
The flight was successful and the capsule was recovered by a helicopter 24 minutes after landing in the Atlantic. It can be viewed today at the Houston Museum of Natural Science , Texas .
Web links
- NASA History Series: MA-2: Trussed Atlas Qualifies the Capsule in "This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury"
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- Mercury-Atlas 2 in the NSSDCA Master Catalog (English)
Mercury-Little-Joe 1 · Mercury-Big-Joe 1 · Mercury-Little-Joe 6 · Mercury-Little-Joe 1A · Mercury-Little-Joe 2 · Mercury-Little-Joe 1B · Mercury-Atlas 1 · Mercury-Little -Joe 5 · Mercury-Redstone 1 · Mercury-Redstone 1A · Mercury-Redstone 2 · Mercury-Atlas 2 · Mercury-Little-Joe 5A · Mercury-Redstone BD · Mercury-Atlas 3 · Mercury-Little-Joe 5B · Mercury- Redstone 3 · Mercury-Redstone 4 · Mercury-Atlas 4 · Mercury-Atlas 5 · Mercury-Atlas 6 · Mercury-Atlas 7 · Mercury-Atlas 8 · Mercury-Atlas 9