• Source: Beach Abort

The Beach Abort was an uncrewed test in NASA's Project Mercury, of the Mercury spacecraft Launch Escape System. Objectives of the test were a performance evaluation of the escape system, the parachute and landing system, and recovery operations in an off-the-pad abort situation. The test took place at NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, test facility on May 9, 1960. In the test, the Mercury spacecraft and its Launch Escape System were fired from ground level. The flight lasted a total of 1 minute, 16 seconds. The spacecraft reached an apogee of 0.751 kilometres (2,465 ft) and splashed down in the ocean with a range of 0.97 kilometres (0.6 mi).Top speed was a velocity of 436 metres per second (976 mph). A Marine Corps helicopter recovered the spacecraft 17 minutes after launch. The test was considered a success, although there was insufficient separation distance when the tower jettisoned. Mercury Spacecraft #1, the first spacecraft off McDonnell's production line, was used in this test. Total payload weight was 1,154 kilograms (2,544 lb).
Mercury Spacecraft #1 is displayed at the New York Hall of Science, Corona Park, NY. It is displayed indoors, suspended from the ceiling, with an escape tower of unknown provenance attached.




Gallery















See also


Boilerplate (spaceflight)




References


This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.




External links


This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201 Archived 2010-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
Video of Mercury Beach Abort Test
Additional Images of the Spacecraft

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Boeing Starliner
• Crew Dragon Demo-2
• Beach Abort
• Space Shuttle abort modes
• Little Joe 5
• Boilerplate (spaceflight)
• Little Joe 1B
• Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle
• Project Mercury
• Mercury-Atlas
• Astronaut Wives Club
• Mercury Control Center