1961-025A
Spacecraft 8 was refurbished as Spacecraft 8A, and was relaunched at 1404 on 1961 Sep 13. It became the first Mercury in orbit, and was recovered from the Atlantic after a 109 minute trip around the Earth. The astronaut simulator was again carried. Splashdown was 283 km E of Bermuda (about 32N 60W). Retrofire is at an angle of 34 deg corresponding to a dV of -128, 0, -86 m/s.
| MA-3 and MA-4 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Apr 25 | 1615:00? | Launch by Atlas 100D, LC14 | |
| 1615:40? | T+40s LES abort at 4.3 km | ||
| 1616 | LES sep | ||
| Apogee at 7.3 km | |||
| 1622 | Splashdown in Atlantic, range 1.8 km | ||
| 1633 | Helicopter recovery | ||
| Returned to Hangar S | |||
| 1961 Sep 13 | 1404 | Launch on az 70 deg | LC14 |
| T+2:11? BECO | |||
| 1406? | Booster sep, 66 km alt | ||
| 1406? | LES sep | ||
| 1409 | MECO | ||
| 1409 | Atlas sep | 156 x 248 x 32.8 | |
| 161 x 254 (PressConf) | |||
| 1533 | T+1:28:59 Retrofire | ||
| 1534 | Retropack sep | ||
| 1538 | Entry | ||
| 1553 | Splashdown in Atlantic T+1:49:20 | ||
| 1714 | Recovered by USS Decatur | ||
