Mercury MA-5

USA

Orig PL Name: SC9
Also called: Mercury-Atlas 5

Launch data:

Designation	00208 / 1961 A-Iota1 / 61033A
Launch date	29 Nov 1961 - 15:07:57 UT
Launch site	CC, LC14
Launch vehicle	Atlas-D Mercury (#93D)
Payload	Spacecraft n° SC9
Basic shape	Cone-frustum
Size (m)	2.9 long - 1.83 dia
Mass (kg)	1300
Crew	Chimpanzee Enos
Mission
Earth orbit on Nov 29.7:
- Perigee / Apogee	158 x 237 km
- Eccentricity	0.006
- Inclination	32.6°
- Period	88.31 min
Distance	750 km (50,862 statute miles)
Recovery date	29 Nov 1961 (.77)
Prime Recovery ship	USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39)
Capsule recovery ship	USS Stormes (DD 780)
Flight Duration (d:u:min)	3 hours, 20 min, 59 sec
Nbr orbits	2

Mission Objective:

Primate test of Environmental Control System in Orbit

Landing:

29 Nov 61, 3 hours and 22min after launch. The capsule was spotted by a P5M search airplane at an altitude of 5000 ft. Ships Stormes and Compton were contacted and they moved into position from a distance of 30 miles away. The "Stormes" arived in the area 1 hour and 15 minutes after landing and hauled the capsule aboard via its lanyard, cracking the onboard window.

Mission Highlights:

Enos, the orbiting chimpanzee fared well. He withstood a peak of 6.8g during booster-engine acceleration and 7.6g with the rush of the sustainer engine. A metal chip in a fuel supply line caused a problem with the attitude control system, disabling the clockwise roll thrusters. This caused the spacecraft to drift 30 degrees from its normal attitude at which point the automatic stabilization and control system brought the spacecraft back each time to its normal attitude. This process caused an extra pound of fuel to be burned each orbit.

On the second orbit, suit circuit temperature rose from 65 to 80 degrees, indicating a freezing condition in the heat exchanger. Temperatures rose to 100.5 degrees before stabilizing. Dr. Christopher Kraft decided to shorten the flight and bring Enos back after the 2nd orbit.

Spacecraft partial success, Launch vehicle successful. Weightless 3 hours 4min 38 sec

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Port Canaveral

Recovery cancel Patric Air Force Base. Credit: #410

Second Recovery Ship "USS Burton Island" (AGB-1) cancel

Recovery Ship "USS Francis Marion" (APA 249) cancel. Credit:#312

Recovery Ship "USS Boxer" (LPH-4) cancel. Credit:#312

Ref.: #1, #2, #6b, #7, #206, #312, #400, #406 - update: 23.02.19

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