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What was the Mercury Redstone rocket made of?
The standard Redstone was fueled with a 75 % ethyl alcohol and 25 % LOX solution, essentially the same propellants as the V-2, but the Jupiter-C first stage had used hydyne fuel, a blend of 60 % unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and 40 % diethylenetriamine (DETA).
How fast does Mercury Redstone go?
The flight lasted 15 minutes, 22 seconds and the spacecraft traveled 302 miles (486 km) from its launch point, ascending to 116.5 miles (187.5 km). Freedom 7 landed at these coordinates:27.23°N 75.88°W. It reached a speed of 5,180 mph (8,340 km/h).
Why did the Redstone rocket fail?
Causes of the failure Investigation revealed that the Redstone’s engine shutdown was caused by two of its electrical cables separating in the wrong order. These cables were a control cable, which provided various control signals, and a power cable, which provided electrical power and grounding.
Who built Mercury Redstone rocket?
By October of that year, a status report on Marshall’s involvement in Mercury noted that the first two Mercury-Redstones had been assembled by the Marshall Center with many of the components fabricated at Marshall. The Chrysler Corporation had assembled an additional six launch vehicles.
What rank was Alan Shepard?
Chief of the Astronaut
The condition caused Shepard to be removed from flight status. Grissom and John Young flew Gemini 3 instead. Shepard was designated Chief of the Astronaut Office in November 1963, receiving the title of Chief Astronaut.
How tall was the Mercury-Redstone?
The actual Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle was an 83-foot (25 m) tall, single-stage launch vehicle used for suborbital flights and was a descendant of the German V-2 developed for the U.S. Army during the early 1950s.
Who was the pilot of Mercury-Redstone 4?
astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom
Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States human spaceflight, on July 21, 1961. The suborbital Project Mercury flight was launched with a Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, MRLV-8. The spacecraft, Mercury capsule #11, was nicknamed the Liberty Bell 7. It was piloted by astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom.
Did Apollo 8 reach the moon?
Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth.
What fuel does Atlas V use?
Fully fueled, with the spacecraft on top, it weighs about 730,000 pounds (333,000 kilograms). Thermally stable kerosene fuel (type RP-1) and liquid oxygen are loaded shortly before launch into cylindrical fuel tanks that make up about half of the total height of the vehicle.
What was the purpose of the Mercury Redstone?
The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, designed for NASA’s Project Mercury, was the first American crewed space booster. It was used for six sub-orbital Mercury flights from 1960–61; culminating with the launch of the first, and 11 weeks later, the second American (and the second and third humans) in space.
How many times has the Mercury Redstone been static fired?
The first four of the eight Mercury-Redstone vehicles had been static fired, and the first Mercury-Redstone was on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral after a capsule-booster compatibility checkout in Huntsville. Three qualification flights of the Mercury-Redstone vehicle were conducted. MR-1 was attempted on November 21, 1960.
How was the Mercury-Redstone rocket recovered?
The Mercury-Redstone designers originally planned for the rocket to be recovered by parachute after its separation from the Mercury capsule. This was the first significant effort to develop a recoverable launch vehicle and the first to reach the testing phase.
How big is the Mercury Redstone?
Originally produced in the fall of 1970, the Estes’ Mercury Redstone is an accurate and detailed model of the vehicle Gus Grissom flew, nicknamed the Liberty Bell 7. Measuring 2 in. in diameter and standing almost 29in. tall, the Mercury Redstone, both then and now, is a big, impressive model.