Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Big Joe 1
| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Big Joe 1 |
| Call Sign: | Big Joe 1 |
| Number of Crew Members: | 0 |
| Launch: | September 9, 1959 Cape Canaveral LC-14 |
| Landing: | September 9, 1959 |
| Duration: | 13 min |
| Number of Orbits: | suborbital |
| Apogee: | 95 mi 153 km |
| Distance Traveled: | 1,424 mi 2,292 km |
| Maximum velocity: | 14,857 mph 23,910 km/h |
| Peak acceleration: | 12 g (118 m/s²) |
| Mass: | 1,159 kg |
| Big Joe 1 | |
 |
Big Joe ( Atlas 10-D) launched an unmanned boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, FL. on September 9, 1959. The objective of "Big Joe" was to test the Mercury spacecraft ablating heatshield. The flight was both a success and failure - the heatshield survived reentry and was in remarkably good condition when retrieved from the Atlantic. The Atlas-D booster, however, failed to stage and separated too late from the Mercury capsule. Due to the added weight of the unseparated booster engines, the sustainer engine depleted its fuel supply 14 seconds early. The boilerplate capsule was not equipped with a launch escape system.
The boilerplate Mercruy capsule flew a 1,424 mile (2,292 km) ballistic flight to the altitude of 90 miles (145 km). The capsule was recovered and studied for the effect of re-entry heat and other flight stresses from its 13 minute flight. Since the data from Big Joe 1 satisfied NASA requirements, a second Mercury launch, Big Joe 2 (Atlas 20D), which had been scheduled for the fall of 1959, was cancelled and the launch vehicle was transferred to another program.
Capsule weight 2,555 lb (1,159 kg). Serial numbers: Atlas 628/10-D, Mercury spacecraft - prototype.
The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Big Joe mission is currently displayed at Garber Facility, National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C. Mercury Big Joe spacecraft display page on A Field Guide to American Spacecraft website.
Reference
- This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury - NASA SP-4201
- NASA NSSDC Master Catalog
- Project Mercury preliminary flight test results of the Big Joe, Mercury R and D capsule (PDF) October 1959
See also
| Previous Mission: Little_Joe_1 | Mercury | Next Mission: Little_Joe_6 |
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