LAUNCH CENTER

Partial Failure

Wed Sep 09 1959

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Big Joe 1

Launch Failure

LAUNCH TIME

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RECOVERY OVERVIEW

Location

No Recovery Specified

Type

No Recovery Specified

Rocket Details

Name:

Atlas LV-3B

Description:

The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets.

MISSION OVERVIEW

Type: Test Flight
Suborbital flight with the objective of testing the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield. The Atlas booster section failed to jettison, leading to a lower apogee. It was nonetheless sufficient to satisfy the Mercury spacecraft team.

COMPLEX OVERVIEW

Location

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Pad

Launch Complex 14