Before the Mercury-Redstone 4 mission, Lewis Research Center and Space Task Group engineers had determined that firing the posigrade rockets into the booster-spacecraft adapter, rather than in the open, developed 78 percent greater thrust.
Sebelum penerbangan Mercury 4, pimpinan Lewis Research Center dan Space Task Group telah memutuskan bahwa menembaki roket kelas ke dalam adaptor wahana antariksa, daripada di tempat terbuka, menghasilkan dorongan 78% lebih besar.