NSSDCA ID: MERCRBD
The Mercury Redstone Booster Development (MR-BD) flight was the last unmanned Mercury Redstone. The purpose of the flight test was to provide a final check of the launch-vehicle system prior to the manned suborbital flights. The objective was to investigate corrections to booster problems resulting during the MR-2 flight. These problems included: (1) structural feedback to the control system producing vane "chatter"; (2) instrument compartment vibration; and, (3) thrust control malfunction.
The launch vehicle achieved a maximum velocity of about 8,200 km/hour and an altitude of 180 km. The capsule travelled nearly 500 km down range for a flight that lasted 8 minutes and 23 seconds. All test objectives of the flight were met. As a result, the launch vehicle was approved for the planned manned suborbital flights.
Launch Date: 1961-03-24
Launch Vehicle: Redstone
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II
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MR-BD information (NASA KSC)
MR-1 Press Release images (NASA JSC)
Project Mercury Drawings and Technical Diagrams (NASA History Office)
On-line version of Project Mercury: A Chronology (NASA History Office)