Mercury-Redstone 1 (MR-1) was the first Mercury-Redstone uncrewed flight test in Project Mercury and the first attempt to launch a Mercury spacecraft with the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle. Intended to be an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight, it was launched on November 21, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch failed in abnormal fashion: immediately after the Mercury-Redstone rocket started to move, it shut itself down and settled back on the pad, after which the capsule jettisoned its escape rocket and deployed its recovery parachutes. The failure has been referred to as the “four-inch flight”, for the approximate distance traveled by the launch vehicle.
Launch Overview
Window Open
14:00 UTC
Window Close
14:00 UTC
Lift Off
Nov 21, 1960 · 14:00 UTC
Launch Facility
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Launch Pad
Launch Complex 5
Target Orbit
Suborbital
Payload Overview
Customer
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mercury-Redstone 1 (MR-1) was the first Mercury-Redstone uncrewed flight test in Project Mercury and the first attempt to launch a Mercury spacecraft with the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle. Intended to be an uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflight, it was launched on November 21, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch failed in abnormal fashion: immediately after the Mercury-Redstone rocket started to move, it shut itself down and settled back on the pad, after which the capsule jettisoned its escape rocket and deployed its recovery parachutes. The failure has been referred to as the “four-inch flight”, for the approximate distance traveled by the launch vehicle.
Height
LEO Payload
Total Launches
Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Launch Complex 5
Launch Overview
Window Open
14:00 UTC
Window Close
14:00 UTC
Lift Off
Nov 21, 1960 · 14:00 UTC
Launch Facility
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Launch Pad
Launch Complex 5
Target Orbit
Suborbital
Payload Overview
Customer
National Aeronautics and Space Administration