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Author
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Topic: Mercury-Redestone 2 (MR-2) parachute recovery
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Chuckster01
Member Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 08-02-2015 06:07 PM
   
Does anyone know if the parachute from Mercury-Redstone 2 (Ham's flight) was recovered?
I recently met a woman in Titusville who believes she has a large piece of the MR-2 chute left to her with many other artifacts from the chimp flights. Everything she has in her collection has solid provenance including some great MA-5 memorabilia. The exception is her MR-2 parachute fragment. In the research I have been able to do online It appears the parachute was not recovered. If anyone has solid facts on this I would appreciate any details you could give. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 08-03-2015 01:35 PM
Other than eyewitness testimony as described in publications like This New Ocean and online accounts, you would have to take the records available at their word, unless you can find a surviving crewman of one of the recovery ships. Better yet, of one of the recovery helicopters that flew that day. Keep in mind, the MR-2 capsule took on about 800 pounds of seawater when a bulkhead was punctured, so the pilots had a lot to worry about. Also, I don't know if a whaleboat from one of the recovery ships would have had the time and inclination to recover a heavy, waterlogged parachute. |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 08-04-2015 04:46 AM
There was also some speculation that this may be a fragment of the back up chute. never deployed but flown? |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 08-11-2015 08:16 PM
I don't want to throw cold water on your situation (no pun intended), but I seriously doubt it. MR-2 landed about 100 miles past its planned landing point. The capsule was in the water for 1 1/2 hours before being recovered. In all the footage I've looked at the most a parachute would stay on the surface for would be about 15 minutes. |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 08-12-2015 05:34 AM
As I posted earlier it has been suggested that there was a backup chute that was never deployed and that would have been recovered with the capsule. I am trying to get in touch with her to get some photos to post. This is a very large piece of orange to pink silk. As I have never seen an early Mercury era parachute I have no idea what the color of the chute would have been.But thank you for the input. |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 08-12-2015 08:55 AM
The reserve parachute is ejected upon landing in a normal sequence (Familiarization Manual section 9). |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 08-12-2015 06:20 PM
The Mercury parachutes were orange and white. There is one on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida, it's from a little Joe flight.Mercsim is right the reserve chute is ejected as soon as the spacecraft lands. Still packed in its deployment bag it would have sank much faster than the main chute. |
Chuckster01
Member Posts: 873
From: Orlando, FL
Registered: Jan 2014
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posted 08-13-2015 05:07 AM
Thanks to everyone for the great information. I will pass it along to the owner. |
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