| Beach Abort |
Mission insignia
 |
| Mission statistics |
| Mission name |
Beach Abort |
| Spacecraft mass |
1,007 kilograms (2,220 lb) |
| Call sign |
Beach Abort |
| Launch pad |
Wallops Flight Facility |
| Launch date |
May 9, 1960 |
| Landing |
May 9, 1960 |
| Mission duration |
00:01:16 |
| Apogee |
0.5 miles (0.80 km) |
| Distance traveled |
1 mile (1.6 km) |
| Maximum velocity |
976 miles per hour (1,571 km/h) |
| Related missions |
| Previous mission |
Subsequent mission |
 LJ-1B |
MA-1 |
|
Mercury Beach Abort test, 1960. (NASA)
Mercury Beach Abort test, 9 May 1960. (NASA)
The Beach Abort was an unmanned 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 the ground level. The flight lasted 1 minute, 16 seconds and reached an apogee of 2,465 feet (750 m) and a range of 0.6 mile (0.96 km). A Marine Corps helicopter recovered the spacecraft 17 minutes after launch. Top speed was a velocity of 976 mph (1,571 km/h). 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 kg.
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.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
|
|
| Missions |
|
|
|
| Subprograms |
|
|
| Rockets |
|
|
|
|
|
