booster. [ edit ] Mercury-Redstone 2 and Mercury-Redstone Booster Development Mercury-Redstone 2 launches at 11:54 AM EST on January 31, 1961, carrying the chimpanzee " Ham ", the first higher primate to fly into space. Mercury-Redstone Booster Development (MR-BD) lifts off at 12:30 PM EST on March 24, 1961. This was