LAUNCH CENTER

Failure

Fri Jul 29 1960

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mercury-Atlas 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
Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) was the first attempt to launch a Mercury capsule and occurred on July 29, 1960 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft was unmanned and carried no launch escape system. The Atlas rocket suffered a structural failure 58 seconds after launch at an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet (9.1 km) and 11,000 feet (3.4 km) down range.

COMPLEX OVERVIEW

Location

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Pad

Launch Complex 14