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Author
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Topic: Project Mercury at 50: Dec. 17, 1958-2008
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E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 12-17-2008 12:01 AM
   
It started as the number one priority at NASA's birth... can we put a man into space? October 1958 saw the creation of the space task group within NASA. They took over the Air Force project Man In Space Soonest (MISS) design of a ball shape and removed North American Aviation as the contractor and started again with the design of a ballistic nose cone shape, and with the nation's highest priority (DX) awarded it to McDonnell Corporation. It was announced on December 17, 1958. Stories have said that John Glenn was one of the original project officers at its inception, and Gordon Cooper possibly. What do we know that we didn't know in 1958-59? J.M. Busby |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1332
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 12-17-2008 12:25 AM
Yes, I heard that also. Glenn had done some of the early centrifuge work at Johnsville Pa. for Langley.Happy 50th for Project Mercury. -Lou |
Obviousman
Member Posts: 438
From: NSW, Australia
Registered: May 2005
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posted 12-17-2008 02:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by E2M Lem Man:
What do we know that we didn't know in 1958-59?
Lots. There was talk of a "breakaway phenomenon"; we didn't know what effect extended stay in micro-gravity would have (could we eat, drink?); we had basic radiation data on passing through the Van Allen Belts, but weren't positive that a hazardous dose wouldn't be received; we didn't know if it was possible to dock in space (some thought a massive static discharge would occur); we didn't know if a spacecraft could be maneuvered in space.Lots more. |
micropooz
Member Posts: 1532
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 12-17-2008 07:53 PM
We now know that every-other Atlas won't blow up. They were doing that in 1958 - 59.  |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 811
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 12-17-2008 08:14 PM
We also know the citizens of the United States was absolutely galvanized by the space program. |
E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 12-18-2008 06:18 PM
I think it would have been interesting if they had gone thru with the Manned Little Joe tests with the astronauts aboard. Scary if you think about the success rate with that program (3 successes out of 7) ...and that was with an escape tower!They were so scared that they pulled a monkey out of LJ-5, 5A and 5B!!! J.M. Busby |
E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 12-22-2008 08:23 PM
Here is a fun filled Mercury factoid. I am building an Atomic City Mercury model right now (I helped Scott Alexander in research for the kit) and I decided to build the large windowed capsule #14.It flew on it's SECOND flight a week before Alan Shepard's portholed #7 flight. It flew on Little Joe flights #5A and #5B in 1961. It replaced the destroyed capsule #4 that was lost on Little Joe 5, which was lost because of a Marmon clamp failure. The clamp also failed on LJ-5A, but a live retro on the pack pushed the capsule away so it could be reused a month later, as NASA needed to simulate an Atlas abort at maximum dynamic pressure, finally completed days before "Freedom-7" flew. J.M. Busby |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1332
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 12-23-2008 05:54 PM
I asked Bob Gilruth about a manned Little Joe flight. And his anwser was the risk just wasn't worth the reward. They were talking about it toward the end of 1959. "It's one of those things that sounded like a great idea at first, but the more we talked about it the more we can to the conclusion we just were not ready. We needed a liquid fuel engine if we were going to go anywhere".-Lou |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 01-02-2009 06:45 PM
Not to nitpick too bad but I believe capsule #4 was destroyed on the MA-1 flight. Its remains are now on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere. Capsule #3 was on the Little Joe flight...Scott |
E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 01-04-2009 12:42 PM
My bad...Thanks, Scott for keeping me straight.That also meant that there were two ...capsules (spacecraft) lost in that period just before the elections of 1960. One on Atlas in July and the other on Little Joe in November. It just shows how important we believed the program was, and how close the Soviets were. I don't think we could lose two in a couple months today - and continue the flights. JM Busby |
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