Mercury-Atlas 1
Mercury-Atlas 1 was the first uncrewed orbital qualification flight of the Mercury spacecraft and Atlas combination. The mission tested capsule structure, reentry heating, flight dynamics, recovery systems, and launch operations; a structural failure near maximum dynamic pressure destroyed the launch vehicle, while the recovered capsule supplied valuable data.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Mercury-Atlas 1MA-1Atlas 50-DSpacecraft 4
- Name
- Mercury-Atlas 1
- Status
- failed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Mercury-Atlas 1 was the first uncrewed orbital qualification flight of the Mercury spacecraft and Atlas combination. The mission tested capsule structure, reentry heating, flight dynamics, recovery systems, and launch operations; a structural failure near maximum dynamic pressure destroyed the launch vehicle, while the recovered capsule supplied valuable data.
- End Date
- 1960-07-29
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- A structural failure near maximum dynamic pressure destroyed the launch vehicle; the recovered capsule supplied valuable structural data.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1960-07-29
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 05:36:03 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 05:36:03 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles