Failure
Mercury-Atlas 3
Test Flight
National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)Government
Atlas LV-3B
Suborbit
Uncrewed test flight of the Mercury program. The launch proceeded normally until about T+20 seconds when the pitch and roll sequence failed to initiate and the vehicle instead just continued flying straight upward, requiring early termination of the flight.
Tuesday, April 25, 1961 at 4:15 PM
Mission details
NASA Mission
#26
Pad Launch
#7
Location Launch
#57
Weather GO
0%
Launch Window
NET
Apr 25, 1961, 4:15 PM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Apr 25, 1961, 11:15 AM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778
Status Details
Failure Reason
Pitch and roll sequence failed to initiate.
Atlas LV-3B Specs
The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets.
Length
28.7 m
Diameter
3 m
Launch Mass
120 t
Thrust
1,300 kN
LEO Capacity
1,360 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1960
Fastest Turnaround
2mo 3d
Total Launches
10
Successful
7
Failed
3
Consecutive Success
6
Maiden flight: Jul 29, 1960
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Founded
1958
Administrator
Administrator: Jared Isaacman
Total Launches
142
Successful
122
Failed
20
Pending
5
Consecutive Success
12