Tag Archives: Atlas

Nov 07

Space Rocket History #37 – Flight of Faith 7, Mercury-Atlas 9 with Gordon Cooper

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Mercury-Atlas 9 was the fourth and final manned orbital flight of the Mercury program. The flight objectives were to:
(1) evaluate the effects on the astronaut of approximately one day in orbital flight;
(2) verify that man can function for an extended period in space as a primary operating system of the spacecraft; and,
(3) evaluate in a manned one-day mission the combined performance of the astronaut and a Mercury spacecraft specifically modified for the mission…

L. Gordon Cooper Jr.

L. Gordon Cooper Jr.

Mercury-Atlas 9

Mercury-Atlas 9

Shephard's Joke

Shephard’s Joke

Tibet From Orbit

Tibet From Orbit

TV Broadcast

TV Broadcast

USS Kearsarge

USS Kearsarge

Oct 31

Space Rocket History #36 – Mariner 2 and Relay 1

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During the summer of 1962 final preparations were underway for the first U.S. attempt to reach another planet.  The planet was Venus, Earth’s closest planetary neighbor.  This first flight would be accomplished by the JPL built Mariner 2 spacecraft…

Diagram_of_Mariner_1_or_2_with_Atlas-Angena_launch_vehicle

Diagram of Mariner

Mainer 2 Launch

Mainer 2 Launch

Mariner 2

Mariner 2

Rose Parade Float

Rose Parade Float

space rocket history pic34

By Dave

Relay 1

Relay 1

Oct 24

Space Rocket History #35 – Textbook Spaceflight – Mercury-Atlas 8, Sigmac 7 with Wally Schirra

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After Scott Carpenter’s science heavy Mercury-Atlas 7 flight, Nasa’s next mission would concentrate on the technical and engineering aspects of space travel.  Mercury Atlas 8 became the third manned orbital flight of the Mercury program. The pilot selected was Walter M. Schirra, Jr., but most people called him Wally…

Mission Logo

Mission Logo

Wally Schirra

Wally Schirra

Sigma 7

Sigma 7

Lift-off

Lift-off

Splash Down

Splash Down

Recovery

Recovery

Oct 10

Space Rocket History #33 – Science Overload – Mercury-Atlas 7, Aurora 7 with Scott Carpenter

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After the successful completion of the Mercury-Atlas 6 flight that carried John Glenn into orbit, it was Scott Carpenter’s turn to pilot Mercury-Atlas 7, which he named Aurora 7.  The mission was essentially a repeat of John Glenn’s 3 orbit mission, except the focus of  this mission was on science. The full flight plan included the first study of liquids in weightlessness, Earth photography, star observations, Venus sightings and a multitude of other experiments…

Scott Carpenter

Scott Carpenter

Scott Carpenter

Scott Carpenter

Capsule Inspection

Capsule Inspection

aurora7nasa

Boarding

458px-Aurora_7_launch

Liftoff Aurora 7

Carpenter-Aboard-Raft-0512a

Splashdown