NATIONAL AEWONAUTlCS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

RELEASE NO, 61-3.4-1 WASHINGTON 2s. o. c. FOR REL,EASE: S a t u r d a y AM s

January 28, 1961

PROJECT MERCURY 3ALKI.>RCUND

I n a week o r s o -- b a r r i n g unforeseen b u t riot completely

unexpected t r o u b l e -- a Mercury s p a c e c r a f t c a r r y i n g a chimpanzee
w i l l be launched from Cape Canaveral, F l a .
Why?

Because i n f o r m a t i o n from t h i s t e s t w i l l make one more l i n k i n

a c o n c u r r e n t c h a i n of t e s t s which one day w i l l d e c i d e how 5303 a
United S t a t e s a s t r o n a u t o r b i t s t h e E a r t h .
The key word here i s c o n c u r r e n t .
Concurrency i s a f -1 ber runnl ng throughout P r o j e c t Mercury.
Concurrency means r e s e a r c h a n d development w i t h scores of e n g i n e e r -
i n g s t u d i e s and t e s t s a l l perfortmd w i t h i n t h e sane time span b u t
a t different sites....
Concurrency means hardware f l i g h t t e s c s on three d i f f e r e n t
boosters -- Atlas, Redstone and Ljtt3.e J o e -- a t two launch s i t e s ,
Cape Canaveral and Wallops Station, V a .

In t h e same b r e a t h , concurrency means thousands of ground t e s t s . . . .

crew t r a i n i n g e x e r c i s e s . . . .and the l i k e a t facilities across the
n a t i o n and a t Mercury t r a c k i n g s t a t i o n s around t h e world.
Why a l l t h e c o n c u r r e m y ? What Is t h e r u s h ?

S t r i p p e d of a l l the s c i e n t i f i c q u a l i f i e r s , t h e answer i s t h i u :
Mercury w i l l prove how w e l l man can s u r v i v e , and whether he c a n
t h i n k c l e a r l y and perform u s e f u l f u n c t i o n s i n the anknown w e i g h t l e s s
void of s p a c e . Such proof -- negative o r positive -- w l l l have a
tremendous impact on space v e h i c l e d e s i g n and space e x p l o r l a t i o n
p l a n n i n g f o r deca.des t o come, The sooner we g e t t h e proof, t h e

b e t t e r o f f we w i l l b e , With l u c k , w e may have a man .In o r b i t

w i t h i n a year.
The c o n c u r r e n t approach, which r e q u i r e s t h e u l t i m a t e i n

p1ann:lng and c o o r d i m t i o n , adds up t o t h e fastest and at t h e 3amc

t i m e t h e moat thorough way of g e t t i n g t h e j o b done.
The p r o j e c t i s a b i g one. And i t ' s a costly one, t o o . Curmnt

esti.mai;es p u t t h e total j o b at n e a r l y $400 rn1.113.on.. Phases of thr?

work are g o i n g on a t a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week clip. Sut;

t h e payoff w i l l be j u s t a s i m p r e s s i v e .

Before t h e United S t a t e s a t t e m p t s i t s f i r s t ma.nned o r b i t a l s t e p

i n t o space aboard a n A t l a s , e v e r y Mercury s p a c e c r a f t system --
i n c l u d i n g s e v e r a l a s t r o n a u t s a t least; -- w i l l have been space-

q u a l i f i e d on a t least one of Mercury;s b o o c t e r s .

E a c h f l i g h t t e s t i n a n y gLven Mercury series -- Atlas, Ljttlt;

Joe o r Redstone -- p r e s e n t s new t e c h n i c a l hurdles, i n t r o d u c e s rie~;'

systems;, seeks new o r a d d i t i o n a l inf'or~mat.Ic.n. A comparison of t h c
f i r s t s u c c e s s f u l Mercury-Redstone f l i g h t c;n Dec, 19, 1960, and t n ~ :
upcomlng Mercury-Redstont t e s t p o i n t up launch-to-Launch differences
dramatically.

ForDexample, i n a h i g h l y s u c c e s s f u l o v e r a l l t e s t , MR-1 c l i n i b c d

as programmed to a b o u t 130 m l l e s and l a n d e d some 235 m i l e s dawn

range. The upcoming MR-2 prcgrani shaves t h e peak a l t i t u d e t o 115

m i l e s and e x t e n d s the l a n d i n g p o i n t tc; a b o u t 290 miles.
Why t h e change?

F o r one r e a s o n , h i g h a l t i t u d e winds c a r r i e d t h e MR-1 f l i g h t

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q u i t e c l o s e t o range s a f e t y l i m i t s which d i c t a t e t h a t a missile w i l l
g e t out and away f r o m t h e Cape area a s q u i c k l y a s p o s s i b l e , The

somewhat lower, f l a t t e r MR-2 t r a j e c t o r y w i l l a v o i d t h a t . Also t h e

VIR-2 l o b w i l l reduce t h e r e - e n t r y G ( g r a v i t y f o r c e s ) t o about 11
i n s t e a d of t h e 12-plus r e - e n t r y G encountered i n t h e s t e e p e r up-and-
down MR-1 p r o f i l e .
Another d i f f e r e n c e i s MR-2 w i l l have a p a s s e n g e r -- a chimpanzee
weighing about 40 pounds -- whereas MR-1 d i d n o t . T h i s means t h e

f i r s t f l i g h t t e s t of t h e a l l - i m p o r t a n t l i f e - s u p p o r t system. For
d e t a i l s on t h e chimpanzee, s e e t h e Animal F l i g h t Proginam f a c t sheet;
enclosed,
S t i l l a n o t h e r d i f f e r e n c e i s t h e f a c t t h a t Tor' t h e f i r s t tirrie a
system c a p a b l e of s e n s i n g impending b o o s t e r t r o u b l e and s e p a r a t i n g
c a p s u l e from booster w i l l be o p e r a t e d on a f u l l y a u t o m a t i c , s e l f -
contained basis. T h i s a l l - i m p o r t a n t bond between b o o s t e r and space-

c r a f t i s something not found i n any o t h e r space program.

Such d i f f e r e n c e s a r e f a i r l y w e l l documented a t e a c h l a u n c h . All
but f o r g o t t e n i n t h e j a r r i n g n o i s e a n d b l a s t and excitement of a
launch, however, a r e t h e weeks and months of component a n d system
t e s t i n g t h a t go i n t o any g i v e n s p a c e c r a f t .
That s t o r y cannot be found a t Cape Canaveral. It u n f o l d s i n
labs a t St. Louis ....Minneapolis . , . ,Langley ....San Diego ....Hunts-
ville ....los Angeles. The s t o r y goes something l i k e t h i a :
Pick a component. Test it. Then t e s t it t o d e s t r u c t i o n . Note
e x a c t l y when, where and why i t f a i l s . Then w i r e it t o a n o t h e r com-
ponent. And s o on. F i n a l l y a system i s assembled. How does I t
work as a system? Operate i t i n a j a r r i n g shake-test. Then r u n
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it under perhaps twice t h e h e a t i n g i t w i l l have t o t a k e i n f l i g h t .
Run i t i n s u b f r e e z i n g temperatures. And t h e t e s t s go on.
After i t i s checked out, i t goes t o McDonnell A i r c r a f t , prime
s p a c e c r a f t c o n t r a c t o r f o r t h e Mercury s p a c e c r a f t . Now i t must go
through similar t e s t s but i n fine-mesh sequence w i t h o t h e r systems,
added and t e s t e d one system a t a t i m e . F i n a l assembly i s done i n
a "white" room under h o s p i t a l - s t e r i l e c o n d i t i o n s .
A t t h e Cape t h e c a p s u l e goes through a n o t h e r punishing round

of hangar and pad checkouts b e f o r e i t i s pronounced ready f o r f l i g h t .

When it i s ready, more t h a n seven miles of wire w i l l i n t e r l a c e
a dozen or more major systems and sub-systems made up of more chan
10,000 components. A l l t h i s i s shaped and s t a c k e d l a y e r on l a y e r i n
a c a p s u l e p r o v i d i n g l e s s t o t a l volume t h a n t h a t of a scandard
telephone booth. Space and weight a r e a t a premium.
The maze of c i r c u i t r y f e e d i n g o f f primary and a u x i l i a r y power
s o u r c e s p r e s e n t s s p e c i a l e l e c t r o n i c problems. Mercury e n g i n e e r s
c a l l them " g l i t c h e s .
A " g l i t c h " i s a minute change i n v o l t a g z on a l i n e which i s
enough to t r i g g e r a h a i r - s p r i n g s e n s i t i v e system f e e d i n g off t h e
same l i n e . Say a n e l e c t r i c a l command has e n e r g i z e d a c e r t a i n 1ir.e

for s e v e r a l seconds. When t h e s i g n a l fades, t h e change i n v o l t a g e

sometimes can be enougi t o t r i g g e r a n o t h e r system o u t of proper
sequence.
These k i n d s of ''bugs" are t h e most d i f f i c u l t t o get r i d o f .
Making i t a l l t h e more d i f f i c u l t i n t h e Mercury S p a c e c r a f t i s a n
a c c e s s i b i l i t y problem.
Engineering r e c o r d s , s h o w t h a t i t may take s e v e r a l hours t o get
 -9 -
t o a f a u l t y component which might take only 10 t o 15 minutes t o f i x
or r e p l a c e , S e v e r a l l a y e r s of f i x t u r e s and w i r i n g might have to be
removed to g e t to t h e s o u r p a r t . Space i s l i m i t e d !
To date, Mercury has r o l l e d up a significant flight test r e c o r d .

I n a d d i t i o n t o hundreds of wind-tunnsl and a i r drop t e s t s , t h e

f o l l o w i n g rocket-boosted Mercury t e s t f l i g h t s of r e s e a r c h and develop-
ment models have provided a wealth of i n f o r m a t i o n :
Big Joe -- September 9, 1959 -- From t h e A t l a n t i c Miasile Range,
to t e s t t h e s t r u c t u r a l i n t e g r i t y and h e a t i n g of a r e s e a r c h model
of t h e Mercury s p a c e c r a f t boosted by a n Atlas.
L i t t l e Joe I -- October 4, 1959 -- From N A S A ' s Wallops S t a z i o n ,
Va., to t e s t i n t e g r a t i o n of b o o s t e r and s p a c e c r a f t , u t i l i z i n g a
250,000-pound t h r u s t b o o s t e r v e h i c l e c o n s i s t i n g of eight; s o l i d
rockets.
L i t t l e J o e I1 -- November 4, 1959 -- From Wal.1ops S t a t i o n , t.0
evaluate c r i t i c a l low-altitude abort conditlons,
L i t t l e J o e I11 - December '1, 1959 -- From Wallops S t a t i o n , 'LO

check performance of t h e escape system at h i g h a l t i t u d e . Rheaus

monkey Sam was aboard.
L i t t l e Joe I V -- J a n u a r y 21, 1960 -- From Wallops S t a t i o n , t o
che'ck escape system under h i g h a i r l o a d s . Rhesus monkey Miss S a
was aboard.
I n a d d i t i o n , four p r o d u c t i o n v e r s i o n s , b u i l t by McDonnell Air-
c r a f t Company, have been t e s t flown.
May 9, 1960, a McDonnell-bullt s p a c e c r a f t underwent a t e s t of i t s
escape system i n a n off-the-pad a b o r t s i t u a t i o n . This t e s t w a s con-
ducted a t Wallops S t a t i o n a n d o n l y t h e c r a f t and i t s e s c a p e r o c k e t
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system were used.

J u l y 29, 1960, a Mercury s p a c e c r a f t t e s t f l i g h t w a s conducted

a t Cape Canaveral, F l o r i d a , u t i l i z i n g an Atlas b o o s t e r . The purpose

of t h e t e s t was t o q u a l i f y t h e s p a c e c r a f t under maximum a i r l o a d s and
afterbody heating during reentry. A system m a l f u n c t i o n prevented
attainment of f l i g h t o b j e c t i v e s . The t e s t w i l l be r e p e a t e d .
November 7, 1960, L i t t l e J o e V from Wallops S t a t i o n , t o q u a l i f y
production hardware i n a n a b o r t under most s e v e r e launch c o n d i t i o n s
a n t i c i p a t e d d u r i n g a n Atlas-boosted launch. A system malfunction

prevented a t t a i n m e n t of f l i g h t o b j e c t i v e s . T h i s t e s t a l s o w i l l be
repeated.
December 19, 1960, A Mercury-Redstone combination was s u c c e s s -
f u l l y f l i g h t - t e s t e d from Cape Canaveral, F l o r i d a , A l l t e s t obgectives
were achieved.

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Ti*-
 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.

ANNEX 11, Item 1

Mercury S p a c e c r a f t La-cnc he C;

Cape Canaveral, F l o r i d a . - P r o , j e c t Merc1lr-r s p a c e c r a f t , cam::-i ric

a chimpanzee, was launched i n a s u b o r b i t a l b a l l i s t i c t r a . i e c t o r y
ES-7-
a t //,'SX.,&+G-- here today.
The test, conducted by the Nati.ona1 Aeronautics and Space
A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , i s t h e second deslgned t o qua1i.fy a productlon
v e r s i o n of t h e s p a c e c r a f t i n t h e environment of space u t i l i z i n g
a Redstone as t h e launch v e h i c l e .
The chimpanzee i s i n c l u d e d i n t o d a y ' s t e s t t o q u a l i f y t h e
s p a c e c r a f t ' s environmental c o n t r o l system and aeromedical i n s t r u -
mentation,
 NAL AER I%S ANQ SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON 25. D. C. $JAN 31 1963
ANNEX 11, Item 4

Mercury Spacecraft Test Flight Completed

Cape Canaveral, Florida. - Preliminary data indicate that the

Project Mercury spacecraft car
#'X<dm. ES
,
/
here toda
suborbital ballistic trajectory and landed approximately #JO miles
downrange. Recovery ships are now being directed to the landing
area.
 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.

ANNEX IV

Rocket TV System to be Tested

Cape Canaveral, F1a.--A compact, all-transistorized TV camera,
mounted externally near the top of a Redstone booster, is to relay to
Cape Canaveral, Florida, pictures of MR-2 in flight.
It is believed to be the first time such a system has been flown
on any rocket, although similar cameras have been used f o r years in
airplane flight testing. In this first test, the camera is flying on
a space available basis.
The 3-3/4 lb. unit, measuring about 12 inches long and 3 inches
in diameter is to transmit 30 pictures a second to a remote ground
station at the Cape where the pictures will be filmed. Such film will
let project engineers observe the Redstone flight behavior and, most
important, the motion of the spacecraft as it leaves the booster.
The wide-angle camera lens, set at F 1.5, will be pointed upward
looking into a set of mirrors which will show rocket exhaust and the
receding earth during boost phase. Within 2 seconds after posigrade
rocket firing which separates spacecraft and booster, a steel housing
supporting the mirrors is to move several inches away from the booster
frame, giving the camera a good view of spacecraft separation movement.
The steel housing will remain in place until after pns3.grade firing to
protest the camera lens from blast and heat of the separation (posigrade)
rockets.
The camera should observe the spacecraft for a few seconds as the
spacecraft flies up and away from the booster. The camera should be
out of booster-Cape transmission range before booster impact.
The camerats depth of field is from 2 feet to infinity and provides
a 600-line resolution (Horizontal) picture. No change in focus or
aperture is necessary. Total weight of the camera system, including
housing and cabling is 45 lbs.
The camera system was designed by Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Sunnyvale,
Calif., and was modified specially f o r this flight by the NASA Marshall
Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. The system may be used in
f u t u r e tests to monitor critical operations In larger and more complex
rockets.
 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHlNGtON 25, D. C.

ANNEX V
MR-2 Flight Animal Subject

Cape Canaveral, F1a.-- The animal subject in today's flight is a

37-pound male chimpanzee born in the CameI;aoons, Africa, approximately
3-2/3 years ago. Selection of the 3-fOOt tall primate, identified as
Animal SubJect 65, was made approximately 24 hours before the scheduled
launch by 8 team of biomedical specialists assigned to the Aeromedical
Field Laboratory, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M,, according to Maj. John D,
Mosley, USAF officer in charge.
Physical and behavioral data were obtained on each of six chimpan-
zees in training at Cape Canaveral right up to the hour of selection,
Performance of the flight animal was smooth and consistent indicating
that he should prove more reliable and less affected by distractions
than his five classmates.
The selection team revealed last night that in a final red-light
lever-pulling test, the chimp selected scored 25.08 lever presses per
20-second interval or about 75 lever presses per minute. The chimpan-
zee must hit the lever at least once every 20 seconds to avoid a slight
shock in the foot. A second psychomotor test required that the chimpan-
zee hit another lever to extinguish a blue light programmed to appear
for a five second period each two minutes. The animal responded
properly and rapidly recording a mean reaction time of eight-tenths
seconds.
A second or backup chimpanzee has been prepared for flight in
the event the primary animal cannot be used, The backup is a 47=3/4 lb.
female known as Animal Subject 350 She is approximately four years
old and also is from the Cameroons.