Spacecraft No. 18 (Aurora
7), Vehicle Number 107-D
Mission Objective:
Corroborate man-in orbit
Launch:
May 24, 1962. 7:45:16 EST. The launch countdown proceeded almost
perfectly, with only a last-minute hold of 45 minutes occuring at
the T-11 minutes mark in anticipation of better camera coverage and
to allow aircraft to check the atmospheric refraction index in the
vicinity of Cape Canaveral. The launch vehicle used to accelerate
Carpenter and the Aurora
7 spacecraft was an Atlas D. The differences between the Atlas
107-D launch vehicle and the Atlas 109-D used for MA-6 involved
retention of the insulation bulkhead and reduction of the staging
time from 131.3 to 130.1 seconds after liftoff.
The performance of the launch vehicle was exceptionally good with
the countdown, launch and insertion conforming very closely to
planned conditions. At sustainer engine cuttof (SECO) at
T+5min10sec, all spacecraft and launch vehicle systems were go and
only one anomaly occured during launch. The abort sensing and
implementation system (ASIS) Hydraulic switch No. 2 for the
sustainer engine actuated to the abort position at 4:25 minutes
after liftoff. Pressure transducer H52P for the sustainer hydraulic
accumulator was apparently faulty and showed a gradual decrease in
pressure from 2,940 psia to 0 between 190 and 312 seconds after
liftoff. Another transducer in the sustainer control circuit
indicated that pressure had remained at proper levels so the switch
did not actuate until the normal time after SECO.
Orbit:
Altitude: 166.8 by 99.9 statute miles
Orbits: 3
Period: 88min 32 secs
Duration: 0 Days, 4 hours, 56 min, 5 seconds
Distance: 76,021 statute miles
Velocity: 17,549
Max Q: 967
Max G: 7.8
Landing:
May 24, 1962. 12:41 p.m. EST. 19deg29min North 64deg05min West.
Spacecraft overshot intended target area by 250 nautical miles.
After landing, Carpenter reported a severe list angle on the order
of 60 degrees from vertical and postflight photographs of the
spacecraft taken after egress indicated approximately a 45 degree
list angle. An Air Rescue Service SA-16 amphibian aircraft
established visual contact with the spacecraft 39 minutes after
landing (1:20pm) and the USS Farragut, located about 90 nautical
miles southwest of the calculated landing position was first to
reach the capsule.
Carpenter was picked up by HSS-2 helicopters dispatched from the
aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CVS-11) while the destroyer USS
Farragut (DLG-6) watched the Aurora
7 capsule until it could be retrieved with special equipment
aboard the USS John R. Pierce about 6 hours later. A Considerable
amount of sea water was found in the spacecraft which was believed
to have entered through the small pressure bulkhead when Carpenter
passed through the recovery compartment into the liferaft. The
spacecraft was delivered by destroyer to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto
Rico with subsequent return to Cape Canaveral by airplane.
Mission Highlights:
Total time weightless 4 hours 39min 32sec. The performance of the
Mercury spacecraft and Atlas launch vehicle was excellent in nearly
every respect. All primary mission objectives were achieved. The
single mission critical malfunction which occured involved a failure
in the spacecraft pitch horizon scanner, a component of the
automatic control system. This anomaly was adequately compensated
for by the pilot in subsequent inflight operations so that the
success of the mission was not compromised. A modification of the
spacecraft control-system thrust units were effective. Cabin and
pressure-suit temperatures were high but not intolerable. Some
uncertainties in the data telemetered from the bioinstrumentation
prevailed at times during the flight; however, associated
information was available which indicated continued well-being of
the astronaut. Equipment was included in the spacecraft which
provided valuable scientific information; notably that regarding
liquid behavior in a weightless state, identification of the airglow
layer observed by Astronaut Glenn, and photography of terrestrial
features and meteorological phenomena. An experiment which was to
provide atmospheric drag and color visibility data in space through
deployment of an inflatable sphere was partially successful. The
flight further qualified the Mercury spacecraft systems for manned
orbital operations and provided evidence for progressing into
missions of extended duration and consequently more demanding
systems requirements.
Project Mercury
was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959
through 1963 with the goal of putting a human in orbit around the Earth. The
Mercury-Atlas 6 flight on February 20, 1962, was the first Mercury flight to
achieve this goal.[1] Early planning and research was carried out by the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,[2] and the program was officially
conducted by the newly created NASA. The name comes from Mercury, a Roman
mythological god who is often seen as a symbol of speed. Mercury is also the
name of the innermost planet of the solar system, which moves faster than any
other and hence provides an image of speed, although Project Mercury had no
other connection to that planet.
The Mercury program cost approximately $384 million,[3] the equivalent of about
$2.8 billion in 2008 dollars.
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