Mercury-Atlas 3

Mercury-Atlas 3
Mercury-Atlas 3
Mission insignia
Mercury insignia.jpg
Mission statistics
Mission name Mercury-Atlas 3
Spacecraft mass 1,179 kilograms (2,600 lb)
Crew size 0
Call sign MA-3
Launch date April 25, 1961
16:15 UTC
Cape Canaveral
LC-14
Landing April 25, 1961
16:23 UTC
Mission duration 7 min 19 s
Number of orbits suborbital
Apogee 4.5 miles (7.2 km)
Distance traveled 1.1 miles (1.8 km)
Maximum velocity 1,177 miles per hour (1,894 km/h)
Peak acceleration 108 m/s² (11 g)
Related missions
Previous mission Subsequent mission
Mercury insignia.jpg MR-BD Mercury insignia.jpg Little Joe 5B
Launch of MA-3
Example of the Mercury spacecraft launch escape system operation; this is not MA-3. (NASA)

Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3) was launched unmanned on April 25, 1961 at 16:15 UTC, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury capsule contained a robotic "mechanical astronaut". Mercury spacecraft No. 8 and Atlas No. 8 100-D were used in the mission.

The mission was terminated by the range safety officer after 43.3 seconds due to failure of the launch vehicle to follow its roll and pitch programs. Although the launch vehicle was destroyed, considerable benefit was derived from the flight test. The launch escape system saved the Mercury spacecraft from destruction. The capsule flew to an apogee of 7.2 km and downrange only 1.8 km.

The flight of the Mercury capsule lasted 7 minutes and 19 seconds, most of that time descending on its parachute. The spacecraft was recovered some 20 minutes after launch in the Atlantic Ocean and reused on the next flight (MA-4) as spacecraft No. 8A.


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