Mercury MA-2

Launch & landing data: Designation  61Sub2 Launch date - time  21 Feb 1961 Launch site  CC, LC14 Launch vehicle  Mercury-Atlas-D(#67D) Payload  Mercury SC6 Mass (kg)   Suborbital flight:    - Altitude  275 km (114 statute miles) Distance  1,432 statute miles Velocity  13,227 mph Max Q  991 psf Max G  15.9 Landing date - time  21 Feb 1961 Landing location  Atlantic, 230 km from launch site Prime recovery ship  USS Donner (LSD 20) Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  17 min, 56 sec Nbr orbits  0

Technicians inspecting the Mercury capsule that survived a torturous 12,500 miles per hour ride.

Mission Objective:

• MA-2 mission was to qualify the Mercury-Atlas combination in flight and evaluate spacecraft performance under near maximum re-entry loads and maximum afterbody heating.
• The unoccupied spacecraft was launched at 9:11 A.M. EST. After a normal flight, it landed in the high probability landing area 1300 miles downrange. WV aircraft received SARAH indications shortly after main parachute deployment at ranges up to 140 nautical miles. Observers on USS Donner and USS Greene, and two search aircraft sighted the spacecraft visually. The spacecraft was sighted in the water at 9:36 A.M. EST by a WV search aircraft and at 9:51 by the recovery helo. The spacecraft was recovered in two minutes and delivered aboard USS Donner at 10:06
• Mission Successful

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Port Canaveral

Launch cancel Port Canaveral, Goldey cachet. Credit: R403.

Launch cancel Patrick Air Force. Credit: R403