First Atlas launch of a Mercury boilerplate capsule - September 1959(NASA)
Big Joe ( Atlas 10-D) launched an unmanned boilerplateMercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, FL. on September 9, 1959. The objective of "Big Joe" was to test the Mercury spacecraft ablating heatshield. The flight was both a success and failure _ the heatshield survived reentry and was in remarkably good condition when retrieved from the Atlantic. The Atlas-D booster, however, failed to stage and separated too late from the Mercury capsule. Due to the added weight of the unseparated booster engines, the sustainer engine depleted its fuel supply 14 seconds early. The boilerplate capsule was not equipped with a launch escape system.
The boilerplate Mercruy capsule flew a 1,424 mile (2,292 km) ballistic flight to the altitude of 90 miles (145 km). The capsule was recovered and studied for the effect of re-entry heat and other flight stresses from its 13 minute flight. Since the data from Big Joe 1 satisfied NASA requirements, a second Mercury launch, Big Joe 2 (Atlas 20D), which had been scheduled for the fall of 1959, was cancelled and the launch vehicle was transferred to another program.
The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Big Joe mission , is currently displayed at Garber Facility, National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C. Mercury Big Joe spacecraft display page on A Field Guide to American Spacecraft website. (http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/fieldguide/pages/mercury/bigjoe.html)
When Project Mecury began in October 1958, the purposeof the Little Joe phase was to propel a full-scale, full-weight developmental version of the manned spacecraft to some of the flight conditions that would be encountered during exit from the atmosphere on an orbital mission.
The Little Joe launch vehicle was 48 feet in height, weighed (at maximum) 41,330 pounds, was 6.66 feet in diameter, consisted of four Pollux and four Recruit clustered, solid-fuel rockets, could develop a thrust of 250,000 pounds, and could lift a maximum payload of 3,942 pounds.
The purpose of the instrumentation was to obtain measurement of the vibration and sound environment encountered on the capsule during the firing of the Grand Central abort rocket.
BigJoe (Atlas 10-D) launched an unmanned boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, FL.
The objective of "BigJoe" was to test the Mercury spacecraft ablating heatshield.
Since the data from BigJoe1 satisfied NASA requirements, a second Mercury launch, BigJoe 2 (Atlas 20D), which had been scheduled for the fall of 1959, was cancelled and the launch vehicle was transferred to another program.
Feeds |
Contact