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N E W S R E L E A S ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION1 5 2 0 H S T R E E T , N O R T H W E S T ' W A S H I N G T O N 2 5 , D . C .T E L EP H O N E S: D U DL E Y 2 - 6 3 2 5 . E X EC U T I V E 3 - 3 2 6 0FOR RELEASE: SUNDAY AM'sFebruary 19, 1961

Release Eo, 61-27MERCURY SPACECRAFT FLIGHT TEST (MA-2)

A Mercury spacecraf t w i l l be launched aboard a n Atlasl a unc h ve h ic l e du r ing the ne x t s e v e r a l days i n t h e most se ve r et e s3 o f the Mercury program.

Toward t h e end o f an 18-minute f l i g h t from Cape Canaveral,F l a . , t h e h i g h l y ins t rumented one- ton-plus c r a f t w i l l be b u f f t e d ,scc;;xhed axd squeezed aerodynamically as never before and, hope-f u l l y , n e v e r again . Pur pose o f t he t e s t i s t o q u a l i f y t h ein.Lra-*c a t e ercury d e si gn and s t r u c t u r e un de r t h e worst conce ivab lere -e r? t ry condi t ions , f a r more severe than could be expected i n a neventaal normal f l i g h t and r e - e n t r y .

lJASA Space Task Group enginee r s d i rec t ing Pro jec t Mercuryh2ve picked a f l i g h t c urv e f o r t h e Mercury c r a f t w hich d u p l i c a t e st h e most se ve r e re-ent ry pa th it could take a f t e r a n emergencya b o r t dur ing an o r b i t a l l a u n c h a t t e m p t . The planned f l i g h t pa th

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- 2 -1 -- A re-entry heat ing ra te 30 pe rcen t h i ghe r than t h a t

o f a normal Mercury orbital re-entry. I n addi t ion , t empera turesw i l l run 25 pe rcen t h i g h e r on ce r t a i n caps u le p o i n t s ,

a s - - Three times the normal Mercury orbi ta l r e - e n t r y a i rloads , sp ik ing i n t h i s t e s t a t about 900 pounds per square foot.

3 -- T w i c e t h e d e c e l e r a t i o n G l o a d ( g r a v i t y ) o r roughly16 G compared t o a n o r m a l o r b i t a l r e - en t ry G o f 8.

What's more, t h e f l i g h t curve w i l l make these extra-o r d in a r y s t r e s s e s o cc ur i n rapid success ion when t h e r e - e n t e r i n gs p a c e c r a f t slams in to th ickening a tmosphere 50 t o 45 miles high .

The be l l - shaped n ine- foot h i g h , s i x - foo t ba s ed s pacec ra f ti s t o h i t a peak a l t i t u d e o f 115 miles ( s t a tu te ) and l and some1400 miles o u t i n t h e A tl a n t i c , ab ou t 400 miles n o r t h e a s t o fPuerto Rico.

A s a pa ra l l e l t e s t o b j e c t i v e , t h i s f l i g h t i nv ol ve s i n -v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e c o m p a t i b i l i t y o f t h e Mercury spacecraf t w i t hits Atlas l aunch vehic le .

Atlas was s e l e c t e d as th e launch ve hi c l e f o r Mercury be-cause of i t s powerful t h r u s t a n d i t s d e m o n s t r a t e d r e l i a b i l i t y asa n A i r Force ICBM.

The MA-2 t e s t , a r e s e a r c h and development launch, hasmuch th e same purpose as t h e MA-1 experiment o f J u l y 29, 1960 ,S i nce t h a t t i m e a thorough ana lys i s has been made of t h e MA-1

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t h i c k - sk inne d At la s w i l l begin i n e a r l y s p r i n g .The f l i g h t , t h e n , i s a n impor tan t one . , , . impor tan t to

the spa cec ra f t eng i nee r s who w a n t c r i t i c a l s t r e s s information sucha f l i g h t can produce....and im por tan t t o t h e u l t i m a t e g o a l o f t h eprogram.

But as impor tant as t h e f l i g h t i s , no one can f 'oreslozea g a i n s t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f f a i l u r e .and development .

Such i s th e nature of PesearIch

Apar t from boos te r c ons id e r a t ions , t he t e s t progrrzmmc?~ ~ rt h e MA-2 spacecraf t would m a k e a m e t a l u r g i s t c r i n g e . I t ' s tke T,~?PS;of t e s t e ng ine e r s w ou ld l i k e t o be ab le t o s imula te on t h e g:cwricj.But t e s t f a c i l i t i e s d on ' t e x i s t -- and may never e x i s t -- whichwould simulate a l l of t h e hea t ing and s t r e s s extremes prcgrmunec!for MA - 2

The posi t ion and v e l o c i t y o f t h e Atlas a t t h e rnOTneni of 'burnout are t h e keys t o the aerodynamic tor tures planned for 'theMA-2 capsule . A t burnout, some four minutes a f t e r launch, t h eAtlas should be about 90 miles above the Ear th . The b i r d riszelfshould be cQcked a t a s l i g h t a n g l e o f t h r e e degrees off t h eho r i zm-.&ne. Laws of physics say t h a t a body released. ai; t;Pii.:;

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- 5 -an angle enhances the spacecraft heating rate -- particularly onthe afterbody.

Heating on the afterbody shoilld send temperatures 8 s highas 2000 degrees F. for the few critical minutes of re-entry,would be about 500 degrees higher than a normal orbital return.

This

Also during re-entry, the spacecraft w i l l be encounteringmounting air loads until they reach a maximum -- what engineerscall "max q" -- of 900 pounds per square foot. This will hit thespacecraft as it courses intc, the atmosphere at approximately13,000 miles an hour. Conversely, the same order of air loads willweigh on the vehicle during Sooster flight.

During re-entry, temperatures on the blunt face of thecapsule's ablation heat shield are likely to hit 3,000 degrees F,If temperatures a few inches off the plastic heat shield surfacewere being measured, they WGU~Ce in Che neighborhood of 10,000degrees F.

As in the pattern of past Mercury tests, new systems willbe flying for the first time in this test.sensing system in the Akl-as -- sinilar in principal to the onewhich worked so well/the 'Iiax" flight of Mercury-Redstone 2January 31, 1961 -- will be openating on a fully autonatic, self-contained basis for the f i w t time.

For one, a trouble-in

In several Atlas flights, this system, technically known

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- 6 -T h i s time i t can sense impending trouble i n t h e b o o s t e r and i swired to t r i g g e r t h e escape rocket above th e s p a c e c r a f t t o p u l lt h e capsu le f r ee o f t he boos t e r .

I n a dd i t ion , t he n , t h i s i s th e f i r s t f l i g h t of th e 16-footescape tower i n a n Atlas-boosted Mercury t e s t .

A t the same time, the s p a c e c r a f t i n t h i s f l i g h t d oes n o tc o n t a i n a l l t h e systems which w i l l be inc lude d i n l a t e r f l i g h t s ,Notable among t hose systems omit ted i n t h e MA-2 t e s t are t h elan din g impact bag, environmental co nt ro l system, as t r on au t couch,c o n t r o l pane l a nd r e t r o r oc ke t s ,

Bo l t e d to t h e f l o o r a t v a ri o u s p o i n t s i n s i d e the s p a c e c r a f tare more than 200 pounds of sensing i n s t r u m e n t s , cameras, recorders,a nd a te lemetry system,

T h e l a t t e r w i l l provide e i g h t channe ls o f con t inous orcommutated information drawn f rom approximately 200 d i f f e r e n tsou r c e sc T h i s system w i l l t r a n s m i t c on t inous ly for most o f thef l i g h t except f o r a c r i t i c a l minute o r two dur ing re -ent ry wheni t s s i g n a l s w i l l not be able t o p i e rc e an ion i zed b l anke t whichw i l l envelop th e s p a c e c r a f t , T h i s system w i l l s t o p t r a n s m i t t i n gwhen the main a n t e n n a c a n i s t e r i s j e t t i s o n e d a t approximately 10,000f e e t before touchdown,

Two tape recorders on board w i l l r e c o r d t h e same da ta b e i n gtelemetered, i n c l u d i n g data dur ing the r a d io "b l a c kou t " r e -en t ry

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- 7 -a c c e l e r a t i o n , a t t i t u d e s , p r e ss u r es , v i b r a t i o n , and ex t e r n a l n o i s el e v e l s ,

Other, data channels w i l l inform ground monitors of i m -p o r t a n t f l i g h t f 'unctions such as escape tower Separat ion , ada pte rclamp release, cap su l e s ep a r a t i o n , and drogue chute deployment.

Q v e r a l l t e s t c o n t r o l w i l l be ex erc i sed by th e MercuryO p er a ti on s D i r ec t o r i n the Mercury Control Center. Detai ledf l i g h t c o n t r o l w i l l be t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e F l i g h t D i r e c t o rand a s t a f f of f l i g h t c o n t r o l l e r s o p e r a t i ng from c on s ol e s i nMercury Control Center.

Assuming an en t i r e l y nomfnal f l i g h t , t h e MA-2 f l i g h tsequence w i l l go l i k e t h i s :

About two and a h a l f minutes a f t e r launch, the Atlas w i l ls tage -- i t s outboard engines burn out and drop of f .t h e e scape to wer t o J e t t i so n i t se l f " which sheds more than 500pounds a f c r i t i c a l w ei gh t,a b o r t c w d i t i o n c r o p u p du r in g t h e s u s t a i n e r p o r t i o n of f l i g h t ,th e system depends on t h e s p a c e c r a f t s e p a r a t i o n r o c k e t s a t thebase o f t h e c a p s u l e to g e t th e capsule away from the boos te r .

This s i g n a l s

S h o u l d t h e u n l i k e l y p o s s i b i l i t y o f an

About four minutes a f t e r Paunchg t h e Atlas s u s t a i n e r w i l lbe shut down early purposely by th e Atlas guidance system. A tt h i s p o i n t the Atlas should be about 90 miles above th e Ear th .

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- 8 -By t h i s time, t h i s t ime, th e capsule w i l l have coasted t o

a n a l t i t u d e o f 115 ni l ex and skaarted to arc over on t h e downwardl e g o f i t s b a l l i s t i c p a t h .

When the capsule h i t s the Ear th ' s a tmosphere , i t w i l l bemoving a t a speed of' 13,000 mEles a n hour , Sever al minutes l a t e r ,the thickening a tmosphere a lone will have slowed t h e capsule toabout TOO miles a n hour,, Before i t h i t s t h e water, two parachuteswill have pared i t s speed t o a mere 20 miles a n hour.

When the capsule reaches 21,000 f e e t , an a l t i t u d e - s e n s i t i v es w i t ch ca l l ed a b a r o s t a t w i l l deploy a drogue (o r r ibbon) parachute .The l i d on the upper an tenna ca ni s t e r w i l l be blown fr ee bef ore ac ha rg e e j e c t s t h e c h u t e , T h i s drogue chute s lows the capsule 'sdescent speed from around 700 miles a n hour t o about 200 mi l e s a nhour

A t 10,000 f e e t , a n o th e r b a r o s t a t i s t o s t a r t a s i m i l a rsequence which opens the m a i n 63- f oo t cargo chute, designed t oeas e the capsule down on the ocean, T h i s a c t i o n r e l e a s e s t h em a i n an tenna can i s t e r , ene rg i zes an impact swi tch, tu rn s on af l a s h i n g recovery l i g h t and ac t i v i t a te s two rad io rescue beacons .It a l s o releases a luminum s t r i p s t o a i d radar locat ion. Aboutt h e same sea-marking mater ia ls are r e l e a s e d and a n under watercharge i s dropped as add i k i ona l l oca t i on a ids ,

A t touchdown, t h e impact switch w i l l disconnect th e m a i nchute and turn o f f a l l capsule el ectr ical power except that re-

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- 9 --t e s t f l i g h t s of research and development models have provided awealth o f in format ion:

B i g Joe -- September 9, 1959 -- From t h e A t l a n t i c MissileRange, t o $est t h e s t r u c t u r a l i n t e g r i t y and heat ing o f a r e s e a r c hmodel o f th e Mercury s pa ce cr af t boos ted by an Atlas,

L i t t l e Joe I -- October 4, 1959 -- From NASA's WallopsS t a t i o n , V a , , t o t e s t i n t e g r a t i o n o f 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 th ru s t bo os t e r ve hic le con s i s t in g ofe i g h t s o l i d r o c k et s .

L i t t l e Joe I1 -- November 4, 1959 -- From Wallops Station,t c e v a l ua t e c r i t i c a l l o w- a lt i tu d e a b o r t c o n d it i o n s,

L i t t l e Joe I11 - December 4, 1959 -- From Wallops Station,t o check performance o f the escape system a t high a l t i ' cud e, Rhesusmonkey Sam was aboard.

L i t t l e Joe I V -- Janu ary 21, 1960 -- From Wallops Station,t o check escape system under hig h a ir l o ad s , Rhesus monkey MissSam was aboard,

I n add i t io n , f iv e produc t ion vers ions , b u i l t by McDonnellA i r c r a f t Company, have been t e s t flown.

May g., 1960, a McDonnell-buil t sp ac ec ra ft underwent a t e s tof its escape system i n a n of f- t he -pad abo r t s i t ua t i o n . T h i s t e s tw a s conducted at Wallops S t a t i o n and o nl y t h e c r a f t and i t s escaper o c k e t system were used,

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- 10 -November 7, 1960, L i t t l e Joe V from Wallops S t a t i o n , t o

qualif 'y- production hardware i n an abort under most severe launchc 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-boos ted launch, A systemmalfunckion prevented a t ta inment o f f l i g h t o b j e c t i v e s ,a l s o w i l l be repea ted .

T k i s t e s t

December 19, 1960, a Mercury-Redstone combination w a ss u c c e s s f u l ly f l i g h t - t e s t e d from Cape Canavera l , F lor ida , A l l t e s to b j e c t i v e s were achieved.

January 31, 1961, a Mercury-Redstone combination wass u c c e s s f u l l y t e s t flown from Cape Canaveral , F lor ida . I t c a r r i e da 37-pound male chimpanzee which emerged from t h e f l i g h t u n sc at he d,

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