The Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle was a critical component of NASA's Project Mercury, serving as the United States' first crew-rated suborbital launch system. Developed from the Redstone ballistic missile, it featured a Rocketdyne A-7 engine fueled by ethanol and liquid oxygen (LOX)* . Between 1960 and 1961, six Mercury-Redstone missions were conducted: four unmanned test flights and two historic manned flights, with five successes and one failure

Unmanned Tests

The maiden flight (MR-1) was unmmaned and on November 21, 1960, and subsequent tests validated the rocket's safety. A notable unmanned mission (MR-2) carried the chimpanzee Ham on January 31, 1961, confirming life-support capabilities.

Manned Flights

On May 5, 1961, Mercury-Redstone launched Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7, making him the first American in space. His 15-minute suborbital flight reached 116 miles altitude and 5,134 mph, offering views of Florida and the Bahamas. Twenty months later, Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell mission (MR-4) completed the program


The Mercury-Redstone provided essential data on spacecraft performance, microgravity effects, and recovery operations, directly enabling later orbital missions. Its success laid the groundwork for the Apollo program, with Shepard later walking on the Moon during Apollo 14. All launches occurred from Cape Canaveral, Florida, before the vehicle's retirement in 1961.


*Sadly, there's no ethalox in SR2, so I'm just using kerolox anyway. It works.
Enjoy this work, fly safe.

GENERAL INFO

  • Created On: Windows
  • Game Version: 1.3.204.1
  • Price: $4,353k
  • Number of Parts: 263
  • Dimensions: 37 m x 7 m x 7 m

PERFORMANCE

  • Total Delta V: 1.5km/s
  • Total Thrust: 1.4MN
  • Engines: 6
  • Wet Mass: 73,253kg
  • Dry Mass: 37,973kg

STAGES

Stage Engines Delta V Thrust Burn Mass
1 1 1.5km/s 703kN 1.9m 73,253kg
3 0 0m/s 0N 0s 45,453kg

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