Capsule, Mercury
name: label: Manufacturer
content: NASA - Langley Research Center
label: Manufacturer
content: NASA, Lewis Research Center
notes: label: Summary
content: On September 9, 1959, NASA launched this unoccupied Mercury spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a suborbital flight that lasted 13 minutes. Its launch was the second in the Mercury program and the first using an Atlas booster. The flight helped NASA evaluate the booster, the new ablative heat shield, the capsule's flight dynamics and aerodynamic shape, and spacecraft recovery systems and procedures.
label: Summary
content: The heavily instrumented "Big Joe" was the most massive American spacecraft launched up to that time. It weighed about as much as a manned version would, and its success paved the way for the beginning of manned Mercury launches in 1961.
label: Alternate Name
content: Mercury Capsule
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
label: Location
content: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
label: Exhibit Station
content: Human Spaceflight
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19680244000
objectType: label: Type
content: SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Test Vehicles
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Structure: Inconel alloy; Heatshield: Phenolic Fiberglass
label: Materials
content: Heatshield: phenolic resins, fiberglass
label: Dimensions
content: Overall: 9 ft. 4 in. tall x 6 ft. 1 in. wide, 2555 lb. (284.5 x 185.4cm, 1158.9kg)