Trade.Information

Company Name: Mercury-Redstone 3

Company Type: Mercury mission

Company Profile

In the next week or so, the Project Mercury's third Redstone launch will take place at Cape Canaveral. In this connection, James E. Webb, Administer or National Aeronautic and Space Administration, stated: "Our nation's space program will soon enter a new era - man's participation in the exploration of space by our first astronaut. The upcoming Mercury-Redstone flight is an important step in the U.S. Program - a step that will lead on to man's ultimate conquest of this new and hostile environment. It is also a most serious step; for it cannot be taken without the risk to human life. It is the kind of risk that Lindbergh took when he crossed the Atlantic, that Chuck Yeager took in the X-1's first supersonic flight, and test pilots Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, and Bob White have taken in their flights in the X-15 airplane. I am confident that in Project Mercury every reasonable pre-caution has been taken to minimize this risk. My very best wishes for success to the Mercury team that has worked so hard to bring this day about. To all astronauts who volunteered and to the one making this flight, let me say 'Godspeed'." Mercury's first manned space flight is to take place approximately one hour after daybreak at Cape Canaveral, Florida, after a 2-day countdown operation. Maximum hold time on any given day will be 5 hours. The flight may be postponed from day to day for 5 days. The one-ton-plus spacecraft, boosted by a modified Redstone launch vehicle, will follow a ballistic arc with a range of 290 statute miles, and a maximum altitude of 115 statute miles. The flight time - lift-off to splash - will be about 15 minutes.

About Company

This is from a press kit detailing the first manned Mercury sub-orbital launch, Mercury-Redstone3. The material in the kit was issued by NASA to all news media for release Saturday April 29, 1961. It was written before the event took place and I have kept the tense as it is.