c

POSTLAUNCH REPORT
FOR
MERCURY-REDSTONE NO. 2

NOTE: This docwnent GO

n unauthorized person is pro

Project MERCURY
Space Task Group

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPAC

February 13, 1

L1
s
z (ACCESSION NUMBER) (THRUI

e //n
-4 (PAGES)

2 COPIES
(NASA CR OR TMX OR AD NUMBER) (CATECSORYI

-
DOSTLAUlCH REPORT FCE HERCURY-REDSTONE N75-75682 \
NO. 2(HE-2) (NASA) 110 p I ,q

Unclas
00/98 29272
 "

POSTLAUNCH REPORT
FOR
MI~RCURY-RED'STONE NO. 2
(-2)

Edited by: <

J . B. Hammack
V Y - R e d s t o n e Project Engineer

D. Hodge
Operations Coordi &tor
I
Approved :
Chief, F l i g h t Systems D i v i s i o n

e h w!!!
I Approved :

Approved :
Chief
-
C, W . %thews

y/%L&c
- I
Operations D i v i s i o n

/J. A. ChamberliYi
ChiQf Engineering D i v i s i o n

Director of P r o j e c t Mercury

Proj ec t MERCURY
Space Task Group
I
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
February 1 3 , 1961
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUBJECT PAGE
1.0 SUMMARY
2.0 INTRODUCTION
3.0 VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
3.1 Ca.psule

4.0 MISSION RESUME 9

5.0 CAPSULE PREPARATIONS AND LAUNCH OPERATIONS 12
5.1 Capsule Preparation 11
5.2 Launch Operations 12
5.3 Weather Conditions at b u n c h 14
6.0 TRA J W T O R Y AND BOOSTER PZXF"RFRIUAN.CE 16

8.1 Trajectory 16

6.2 Booster Performance 27

7.0 CAPSULE MEASUREMENTS AND SYSTEM$ P ~ W O R W N C ~ 28
7.1. deasurehents 28
7.1.1 Accelerations 28
7.1.2 Temperatures 31
7.2 Automatic Stabilization and Control 33
8ys tern (ASCS)

7.3 Reaction Control System ( W S ) 35

7.4 Environmental Control System 37
7.5 Electrical and Sequential 40

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)
SUBJECT PAGE
7.6 Communications and Tracking Systems 42

I' 7.7 Instrumentation 45

7.7.1 Telemetry ,System Performance 45
J
7.7.2 Cameras 46
7.7.3 Onboard Tape Recorder 46
7.7.4 Peak-reading Accelerometers 46
7.7.5 Instrumentation Preparation 46
7.8 Mechanical Systems 47
7.8.1 Pyrotechnics 47
7.8.2 ,Parachute System 47
7.8.3 Landing Bag 47
7.8.4 Quick-Opening Hatch 47
8.0 AEROMEDICAL R E h R T 48
8.1 Preflight Operations 48
8.2 Flight 48
8.3 Recovery 57
8.4 Equipment Performance 59

8.5 Primate Performance 59

9. o FLIGHT CONTROL AND MERCURY C O N T R ~ LCENTER 60
c
PERFORMANCE
9.1 Flight Control 60

9.2 Telemeter Reception and Real Time 61

Displays

ii
 c_
TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)
SUBJECT -
PAGE
9.3 Communications 61
I # 9.4 Computer Operations and Trajectory Displays 62
9.5 Mercury Network Participation 62
3
10.0 RECOVERY 63
10.1 Recovery Plan 65
10.2 Recovery Operations 67

10.2.1 Retrieval Observations 72

10.2.2 Performance of Recovery Aids 73

11.0 CAPSULE POSTFLIGHT INSPECTION 74

11.1 $tructure as
11.2 Capsule Interior 81

12.0 AMR SUPPORT, DATA COVERAGE, AND FILM =VIEW 83

12.1 AMR Support and Data Coverage 83

12.2 Film Review 84

12.2.1 Engineering Sequential 84

I
18,2.2 Onboard Film 84

13.0 CONCL~J&I~)NS 85

14.0 APPENDIX 86

c 14.1 Capsule Telemetry Inserumentation 86

14.2 Modifications to Capsule Instrumentation 88

14.2.1 Biomedical:.Instrumentation 88

14.2.2 General Systems Modifications 88

14.3 Computer and Data Flow Systems 93

Operation
iii
 LIST OF FIGURES
F i g u r e No. Title -
Page
3.1-1
..
Capsule No. 5 and t h e Escape System ...... 4

3.1-2 P r o j e c t Mercury Axis System f o r

I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n , C.G. L o c a t i o n s , and
Y Moments of I n e r t i a . . ..................... 5
3.2-1 MR-2 Booster-Capsule C o n f i g u r a t i o n a t
Launch.. ................................. 8
5.2-1 MR-2 Launch Sequence ..................... 13

5.3-1 Cape Wind P r o f i l e from Rawinsonde Run

a f t e r Launch........... .................. 15
6.1-1 Ground T r a c k . . . . . ........................ 18

8.1-2 A l t i t u d e v e r s u s Range .................... 19

8.1-3
. L
Time H i s t o r y of A l t i t u d e and Range .......
i
20

6.1-4 Time H i s t o r y of ,Mach Number and Dynamic

Pressure.. ... o . . : . ....................... $1

, 6.1-5 Time H i s t o r y of h n g e n t i a l Load F a c t o r . . . 22

.6. 1-:6 Time H i s t o r y of I n e r t i a l and R e l a t i v e
Velocity.. ....... ....................... 23
6 . I-? Time H i s t o r y of I n e r t i a l and Relative
F l i g h t P a t h Angle ........................ 24
' 6 . 1-'8 Ground Track n e a r Landing P o i n t . . . . . . . . . . 25

6.1-9 I n e r t i a l Velocity i n t h e Region of Fuel

D e p l e t i o n and Tower Rocket F i r i n g ........ 26

( E x i t ) .........
c
7.1.1-1 Longitudinal Acceleration 29

L
7.1.1-2 L o n g i t u d i n a l A c c e l e r a t i o n (Re-entry) ..... 30
7.1.2-J. V a r i a t i o n of Outer S k i n and H e a t . S h i e l d .
Edge Temperature with T i m e . . . . . . . . . . . . , .. 32

7.2-1 :Gyro A t t i t u d e s d u r i n g Weightless P e r i o d . . 34

 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Title -
Page
7.3-1 Reaction Control System Fuel Consumption.. 36
7.4-1 Variation of Suit, Cabin, and Static
Pressures with Time from Launch ........... 39
7.5-1 Time Histories of DC Current, DC Voltage
and AC Voltage ............................. 41
7.6-1 Communications and Trar,king Sgs+,e=:
Performance............................... 43
7.6-2 C and S.Band Radar Tracking Summary ....... 44
8.1-1 Chimpanzee Before Flight .................. 49
8.2-1 Aeromedical Functions - Prelaunch Phase.. .. 51
8.2-2 Aeromedical Functions -
High G Boost
?L : , Phase.....................,........-..*... 52 -
8.2-3 Aeromedical Functions - Five Seconds after
Escape Rocket Firing ...................... 53

-
i :
r:
8.2-4 Aeromedical Functions After Approximately
'< i -* 64 Minutes of Zero Gravity.. .............. 54

8.2-5
. .> .
Aeromedical Functions
Force...
- High Re-entry G:
.................................. 55

-
.>

8.2-6 Aeromedical Functions Approximately 4

.. Minutes,After Main Chute.Deployment ....... 56
8 . 3,-1 Chiqpaqzqe - Wter ;f light;+* 58
9.5-1 MR-2 Radar Angles as seen from Bermuda
<- FPS-16.......... .......................... 64
c
10.1-1 Chart of Recovery Operations .............. 66
10.2-1. Capsule - Soon After Landing .............. 69
io. +ai Capsule Shortly Before Pickup,............ 70
Id. $4 Capsule Being Placed on LSD, DONNER....... 71
V
 LIST OF FIGURE6
F i g u r e No. Title -
Page

11.0-1 Photograph Showing Broken R e t e n t i o n

S t r a p s and Torn Impact Landing S k i r t ....... 75

11.0-2 V i e w of Cuts i n F i b e r g l a s s 3 h i e l d Beneath

Large P r e s s u r e Bulkhead...... .............. 76

11.0-3 V i e w of Punctures i n Large p r e s s u r , e

Bulkhead.. ................................. 77

11.1-1 V i e w of Cspsule-Booster Interface

Umbilical. ................................. 79

11.1-2 V i e w of Damaged Crushable Couch Bupport

I335OCk ....................................... 89

14.2-1 Time H i s t o r y of Temperature of 250KA.. ” . ,

I n v e r t e r d u r i n g Countdown.................. 90

14.2-2 E@r&&QtnBJ&~.,CameraAlignment. ............ 92

14 4 3-1 W r c u r y C o n t r o l C.enter, Real Time P l o t b o a r d

........................
No. l . . . . . . . . . . . . O . 94

14.3-2 & r c u r y C o n t r o l C e n t e r &a1 Time Plotboard

No. 2 . . . ................................... e5
Mercury Control mter a&aL Time Pllotbostrd
NQ. 4 . . . . ..................................

vi
 -N -O -T -I C- -E
RANGE ZBRO T I W FOR THE MR-2 FLIGHT TEST PAS
ESTABLISHED A 6 $654: 51 ZULU ( 1 1 5 4 : 51 E3T) a LIFT-

OFF TIME WAS 1 6 5 4 : 5 1 . 8 2 . EX(=-EPT WHEW NOTED, ALL

TIWES mFERRED TO I N THIS REPORT ARE PRESENTED AS

~ ~ A P S FTIW
D IN Y I N W ~ S
AND swoms FROM RANGE

ZERO. FOR ELAMPLE, AN ELAPSFD T I @ OF 9 MINUTES

AND 3$ @3#3QNp8 PI&L BE PRESENTED AS 0 2 : 3 1 .

vii
 1.0 SUMMARY

The MR-2 f l i g h t w i t h a p r i m a t e onboard was made on

January 31, 1961. The b o o s t e r burning r a t e was g r e a t e r t h a n
normal because of f a u l t y t h r u s t r e g u l a t i o n . P r o p e l l a n t de-
p l e t i o n was reached 0 . 5 seconds b e f o r e v e l o c i t y c u t o f f arming
and a b o r t s y s t e m t h r u s t chamber p r e s s u r e s w i t c h disarming.
Thereupon t h e chamber p r e s s u r e switches i n i t i a t e d a c a p s u l e
a b o r t a t 02:18.
The h i g h e r t h a n normal b o o s t e r t h r u s t combined w i t h t h e
escape motor f i r i n g produced g r e a t e r t h a n normal c a p s u l e e x i t
v e l o c i t y . E x i t v e l o c i t y was 7540 f t / s e c as compared t o a
normal mission v e l o c i t y of 6465 f t / s e c . This greater velocity
and t h e l a c k cf retrc f i r i n g ( r e t r o rockets a r e j e t t i s o n e d i n
t h i s a b o r t mode) r e s u l t e d i n a range of 363 n a u t i c a l m i l e s ,
a maximum a l t i t u d e of 136.2 n a u t i c a l m i l e s , a p e r i o d of weight-
l e s s f l i g h t of about 6-1/2 minutes, w i t h a maximum r e - e n t r y
a c c e l e r a t i o n of 14.6g.
The m a j o r i t y of t h e test o b j e c t i v e s were m e t w i t h t h e
following exceptions:
1. The l a n d i n g bag s y s t e m d i d n o t o p e r a t e p r o p e r l y
i n two important r e s p e c t s : a. The h e a t s i n k s t r u c k t h e
bottom of t h e c a p s u l e a t impact p u n c t u r i n g two h o l e s i n t h e
lower p r e s s u r e bulkhead. b. The h e a t s i n k g r a d u a l l y broke away
from t h e c a p s u l e because of f a t i g u e a c t i o n of t h e waves a f t e r
impact a l l o w i n g t h e c a p s u l e t o e v e n t u a l l y l a y over on its s i d e .
As a r e s u l t of these f a c t o r s , t h e c a p s u l e took on a l a r g e amsunt
of w a t e r .
2. The s n o r k e l inflow v a l v e opened d u r i n g a s c e n t
a t about 18,000 f e e t s o t h a t t h e c a b i n d i d n o t m a i n t a i n p r e s s u r e .
With t h i s e x c e p t i o n , t h e environmental c o n t r o l s y s t e m performed
as d e s i g n e d , w i t h t h e emergency s u i t s y s t e m p r o v i d i n g a s a t i s -
f a c t o r y environment f o r t h e a n i m a l occupant. A l l o t h e r c a p s u l e
s y s t e m s performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y .
The primate occupant of t h e c a p s u l e w i t h s t o o d t h e f l i g h t
w i t h no a p p a r e n t ill e f f e c t s , c o n t i n u o u s l y performing h i s given
task.
Recovery of t h e c a p s u l e was made 2 hours and 56 minutes
a f t e r launch and i t was r e t u r n e d t o Cape Canaveral i n t h e
a f t e r n o o n of t h e f o l l o w i n g day.
P o s t f l i g h t i n s p e c t i o n r e v e a l e d t h e c a p s u l e t o be i n good
c o n d i t i o n e x c e p t f o r t h e damage caused by t h e h e a t s i n k .
1
 2.0 INTRODUCTION

The Mercury-Redstone F l i g h t 2 was t h e second of a s e r i e s

u t i l i z i n g McDonnell-built Mercury c a p s u l e s and Redstone b o o s t e r s .
These f l i g h t s are designed t o q u a l i f y . t h e W r e u r y c a p s u l e f o r
o r b i t a l f l i g h t and as a f l i g h t s y s t e m for b r i e f manned s p a c e
flights.
*
MR-2 had a m e d i u m - s i z d p r i m t e aboard'. The a a i m a l w a s
s u p p l i e d and handled by t h e Aeromedical F i e l d : E a b o r a t o r y of
t h e A i r Force Missile Development Center, HoIltoman A i r Force
Base, N e w Mexico. Mercury-Redstone b o o s t e r number 2 and -.
Merc-wy cz~psuLezuzber 5 compriaecl t h e fright s y s t e m . m e t e s t
o b j e c t i v e s were as f o l l o w s :
a. Qualify t h e environmental c o n t r o l system and
aietromedical knstrumentation.
b, QuaLify the automatic s t a b i E i m a t i o n ad'c o n t r o l
system, am3 asrsociktad camponents.
c. Q u a l i f y t h e l a n d i n g system, w i t h emphasis on t h e
2mpac t bag.

d. PsurtPstllly q p a d i f y t h e v o i e e eommunications system..

e. QuiaIify t h e mschamical quick opening h a t c h t o be
ased on the f i r s t manbed; dPight.

f. Q h a i n a c l o s & Ioop evzduation of t h e booster

a u t o m a t i c a b o r t s e n s i n g system.
g , Obtain p h y s i o l o g t c a l and g&rform;ance data on a
p r i m a t e i n b a l l i s t i c space f l i a t .
The S l i g h t p l a n w a s cbesigaed t 6 produ&e r hllistie: trajec-
tory having z m a i m u m rItitude of atbdut 180. n a u t i c a l miles and
a range of 234 nhutical miles. About 5 minutes of w e i g h t l e g s
f l i g h t would thereby rksult, t o g e t h e r with a d.ece3sration of
about 11 g on re-entry.

2
 3.0 VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

3.1 Capsule
Mercury c a p s u l e number 5 with i t s escape s y s t e m is shown
i n f i g u r e 3.1-1. The main c a p s u l e s e c t i o n c o n t a i n e d t h e
p r e s s u r i z e d c a b i n , recovery equipment, b e r y l l i u m heat s i n k ,
and a l l of t h e major c a p s u l e s y s t e m s . The c o n i c a l a n t e n n a
f a i r i n g housed t h e main b i c o n i c a l antenna s y s t e m , t h e drogue
p a r a c h u t e , and t h e horizon scanner s y s t e m . The e s c a p e system
c o n s i s t e d of a tower s u p p o r t s t r u c t u r e , t h e c a p s u l e e s c a p e
r o c k e t , t h e tower j e t t i s o n r o c k e t , a b l a s t d e f l e c t o r f o r t h e
conical a n t e n n a f a i r i n g , ballagq, and an aerodynamic s p i k e .
The major c a p s u l e s y s t e m s c o n t a i n e d i n Mercury c a p s u l e
no. 5 were as f o l l o w s :
a. E l e c t r i c a l power and s e q u e n t i a l
b. I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n (Appendix - shows measurements
made)
c. Communications. A l l communications s y s t e m s were
onboard, b u t thebe w a s no p r o v i s i o n f o r e x e r c i s i n g t h e €IF v o i c e
t r a n s m i t t e r s . The HF recovery beacon and t h e HF p o s t d e s c e n t
a n t e n n a were n o t used.
d. Environmental Control. There w a s no p r o v i s i o n
f o r measuring t h e h i g h p r e s s u r e oxygen o r t h e oxygen p a r t i a l
p r e s s u r e in e i t h e r t h e s u i t c i r c u i t o r t h e c a b i n . A l s o , the
water c o l l e c t i n g system was d i s a b l e d .
e. Automatic S t a b i l i z a t i o n and C o n t r o l
f . Reaction C o n t r o l . Both automatic and manual
r e a c t i o n c o n t r o l s y s t e m s w e r e onboard.
g. Landing and Recovery
h. Rockets
A d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e major c a p s u l e s y s t e m s c a n
be found i n NASA working paper No. 138.
The f o l l o w i n g are measured p h y s i c a l d a t a which w e r e
o b t a i n e d d u r i n g prelaunch p r e p a r a t i o n s of t h e c a p s u l e . Refer
t o f i g u r e 3.1-2 f o r a d e f i n i t i o n of t h e axis s y s t e m . (Capsule
maximum d i a m e t e r is l o c a t e d at Z s t a t i o n 1 0 3 . 4 4 . )
3

'C_
Y
 3.0 VEHICLE DESCRIPTION (CONT'D)
a. E x i t c o n f i g u r a t i o n ( i n c l u d e s c a p s u l e , r e t r o p a c k ,
and escape s y s t e m ) .
(1) Gross w e i g h t 3978.01 l b
(2) CG location

Longitudinal - distance from c a p s u l e m a x . d i a .

2 = 66.07 i n
Transverse X = -.23 i n
Normal Y = -.26 i n

b. Re-entry c o n f i g u r a t i o n ( c a p s u l e only)
(1) Gross w e i g h t 2541.06 l b
(2) CG l o c a t i o n

Longitudinal - d i s t a n c e from c a p s u l e m a I d i a .
2 = 19.91 i n

Transverse X = 7.16 i n

Normal Y = -.55 in
c. F l o t a t i o n configuration
(1) G r o s s weight 2286.18 l b
(2) CG l o c a t i o n

Longitudinal - d i s t a n c e from c a p s u l e max, dia.

Z = 16.1 i n
Traneverse X = -.40 i n

Normal Y = -.43 in
d. .Moments of I n e r t i a of r e - e n t r y c o n f i g u r a t i o n
2
Ix ( p i t c h ) 519 s l u g f t

Ip (yaw) 532 s l u g f t 2

IZ ( r o l l ) 271 slug f t 2
'16
 3.3 VEHICLE DESCRIPTION (CONT'D)
3.2 Capsule - Booster Launch Configuration
The Mercury capsule -
Redstone booster configuration is
shown in figure 3.2-1 at time of launch. No change in con-
figuration as outlined in NASA working paper No. 138 was made.
The Automatic Abort Sensing System in the booster was operated
closed loop during this flight.
c

7
Figure 3.2-1. - MR.-2 Booster-Capsule Configuration at Launch

8
 4.0 MISSION RESUME
MR-2 was launched a t 1154 hours EST, January 31, 1961. A
chimpanzee was onboard.
The launch countdown was accomplished w i t h only minor prob-
lems. In t o t a l , approximately 4 hours of hold t i m e were r e q u i r e d .
One r e s u l t of e a r l y h o l d s was a h i g h e r than normal r i s e i n i n -
v e r t e r t e m p e r a t u r e which then r e q u i r e d f u r t h e r h o l d t i m e i n
o r d e r t o c o o l t h i s component. The weather c o n d i t i o n s were good
a t t h e launch s i t e a l l o w i n g good photographic coverage.
The boosted phase of t h e f l i g h t was abnormal. Because
of a f a u l t y t h r u s t r e g u l a t o r i n t h e b o o s t e r e n g i n e , a wide
open throttle cnniitiem e x i s t e d , and +,he e n g i n z cor;sr;;;;ed
p r o p e l l a n t a t a r a t e t h a t produced g r e a t e r t h a n normal t h r u s t ,
and i n f a c t reached p r o p e l l a n t d e p l e t i o n 0 . 5 seconds b e f o r e
t h e v e l o c i t y c u t o f f s e n s o r was armed. Because of p r o p e l l a n t
d e p l e t i o n t h e chamber p r e s s u r e a b o r t s w i t c h e s gave a c a p s u l e
a b o r t s i g n a l . Abort occurred a t 0 2 ~ 1 8 .
The r e l a t i v e v e l o c i t y of t h e b o o s t e r a t burnout was 7100
f t / s e c , r a t h e r t h a n t h e planned 6465 f t / s e c . The e s c a p e rocket
was f i r e d when t h e a b o r t s i g n a l from t h e b o o s t e r was r e c e i v e d ,
adding an a d d i t i o n a l 440 f t / s e c f o r a t o t a l e x i t v e l o c i t y of
7540 f t / s e c .
The c a p s u l e and tower p i t c h e d about 160" d u r i n g t h e escape
maneuver, a t which time t h e .05g s e n s o r was a c t u a t e d , s w i t c h i n g
t h e ASCS t o t h e r e - e n t r y damping mode ( a t 0 2 : 2 3 ) . This a c t u a -
t i o n was caused by f o r c e s 0 1 p t h e c a p s u l e .
A f t e r tower s e p a r a t i o n (02:51), t h e p i t c h and yaw r a t e s
were damped i n about 1 minute t o z e r 0 and a r o l l r a t e e s t a b l i s h e d
a t 9.50/sec. T h i s v a l u e of r o l l r a t e is normal f o r t h e r e - e n t r y
damping mode.
The c a p s u l e r o l l e d a t an a t t i t u d e of -50" p i t c h and +225Q
yaw for about 5 minutes.
No commands were given by t h e ASCS d u r i n g t h i s t i m e . When
t h e capsule s t a r t e d t o re-enter t h e atmosphere, i t was r e o r i e n t e d
b l u n t - f a c e forward by aerodynamic f o r c e s . A t t h i s t i m e , t h e
ASCS c o n t i n u e d &S respond properly i n t h e r e - e n t r y damping mode.
. Thougb,rthe a c t u a t i o n of t h e .05g s e n s o r had n o t been e n v i s i o n e d
f o r a l a t e a b o r t , t h e ASCS performed a s designed.
The c a p s u l e s y s t e m s performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y d u r i n g f l i g h t
e x c e p t t h a t c a b i n p r e s s u r e was n o t maintained. The i n f l o w
s n o r k e l v a l v e i n a d v e r t e n t l y opened d u r i n g a s c e n t a t about 18,000
f e e t . The emergency s u i t s y s t e m , however, maintained a s a t i s -
f a c t o r y environment f o r t h e chimpanzee.
9
 The chimpanzee w a s d i s t u r b e d very l i t t l e by t h e f l i g h t .
H e t o l e r a t e d t h e peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of 17g d u r i n g a b o r t ,
6-1/22 minutes of w e i g h t l e s s f l i g h t , and t h e peak 1 4 . 6 g re-
e n t r y SLcceleration, continuously performing h i s given t a s k .
Capsule l a n d i n g w a s 363 n a u t i c a l m i l e s downrange, 109
m i l e s f u r t h e r t h a n planned. I t had reached a n a l t i t u d e of
136.2 n a u t i c a l m i l e s , 36.6 higher t h a n planned. The l a n d i n g
a t 1 6 : 3 9 followed normal o p e r a t i o n of t h e p a r a c h u t e s y s t e m ,
The f i r s t e l e c t r o n i c bearing w a s o b t a i n e d a t 12 minutes
and t h e f i r s t s i g h t i n g a f t e r l a n d i n g w a s by a i r c r a f t a t 45
minutes, a t which t i m e t h e c a p s u l e appeared u p r i g h t and
normal. By the time the r.apsi~lewsrs p i c k & by helicopter
a t 2 h o u r s , 56 minutes, it was l y i n g on its s i d e w i t h t h e
c y l i n d r i c a l p a r t of t h e c a p s u l e almost submerged i n t h e water.
A t pickup, t h e bag w a s shredded, t h e s t r a p s w e r e broken and
t h e h e a t s i n k w a s missing. The c a p s u l e w a s d e l i v e r e d t o an
a w a i t i n g LSD where t h e chimpanzee w a s removed, a l i v e and
w e l l . Approximately 800 pounds of sea water w a s i n t h e
capsule.
L a t e r i n s p e c t i o n of t h e c a p s u l e showed t h a t t h e h e a t
s i n k had s t r u c k t h e f i b e r g l a s s p r o t e c t i v e s h i e l d on t h e bottom
of t h e c a p s u l e , which drove t w o b o l t ends through t h e p r e s s u r e
bulkhead, The l a r g e r of t h e two h o l e s w a s about 0.16" i n
d i a m e t e r . C o n s i d e r a b l e water undoubtedly e n t e r e d t h e c a p s u l e
t h r o u g h t h e s e holes. In a d d i t i o n , water e n t e r e d through t h e
o u t l e t s n o r k e l and t h e c a b i n p r e s s u r e r e l i e f v a l v e once t h e
c a p s u l e t u r n e d on its s i d e .

10
 5.0 CAPSULE PREPARATIONS AND LAUNCH OPERATIONS
5.1 Capsule P r e p a r a t i o n
Mercury c a p s u l e number 5 w a s d e l i v e r e d t o Cape Canaveral,
. F l o r i d a , on October 11, 1960, upon completion of s y s t e m s tests
a t t h e McDonnell A i r c r a f t Corporation and s d s e q u e n t compati-
b i l i t y t e s t s w h i l e mated t o t h e Redstone b o o s t e r a t t h e Marshall
Space F l i g h t Center. The p r e f l i g h t p e r i o d .at Cape Canaveral w a s
d i v i d e d i n t o s y s t e m s t e s t s a n d scheduled rework p e r i o d s . The
t o t a l p r e f l i g h t p e r i o d took 111 days, roughly 50 d a y s of s y s t e m s
tests and pad t i m e and 6 1 days of rework.
A ii-mber sf changes were i n c o r p o r a t e d i n c a p s u l e number 5
a f t e r d e l i v e r y t o Cape Canaveral. T h e more s i g n i f i c a n t ones ape
o u t l i n e d below:
1. H e a t s i n k s added t o i n v e r t e r s t o p r o v i d e d i s s i p a t i o n
of t h e heat g e n e r a t e d d u r i n g long o p e n a t i o n .
2 . Twenty-one thousand f o o t b a r o s t a t s w i t c h e s f o r deploying
t h e drogue p a r a c h u t e r a t h e r than t h e forty-two thousand f o o t
b a r o s t a t s t o p r e v e n t early i n i t i a t i o n of t h e recovery .sequenoe
d u r i n g a p o s s i b l e tumbling .re-entry.
3. The main p a r a c h u t e risers were t r e a t e d w i t h <aqrot‘crctive
c o a t i n g t o p r e v e n t d e t e r i o r a t i o n of lortd - a b i l i t y i n the event
t h a t H ‘0 impinged on them during f u e l j e t t i s o n .
2 8
4. The 0.05 g i n v e r t e r bus t r a n s f e r s y s t e m was d i s a b l e d .
C a p a b i l i t y of s w i t c h i n g t o t h e standby i n v e r t e r i n t h e e v e n t of
AC power f a i l u r e w a s r e t a i r r e d . P r o v i s i o n f o r dbactivatiamg t h e
a t t i t u d e gyros .at 0.05 ‘g w a s n o t r e t a i n e d .
5 . A l i m i t sMitch w a s i n s t a l l e d to provide p o s i t i v e means
of iperiscope motor c u t o f f . a f t e r r e t r . a c t i o n .
6 . The c a b i n pres6ur.e m l i e I vailve was replaced w i t h one
t h a t c o u l d n o t open u n t i l a head of 0.4’7 p s i .was reached. This
w a s done i n an attempt t o reduce t h e leakage of water i n t o t h e
c a b i n from t h e Pecovery compartment.
7 . P r o v i s i o n was made t o monitor t h e t e m p e m t u r e of the
main 250 VA i n v e r t e r .
‘8. P r o v i s i o n was madre t o bypass the 0.2 g s e n s o r as w e l l
as t h e 1Qsec timer t o provide a means f o r c a p s u l e s e p a y a t i o n
i n t h e a , o r t mode in t h e event of f a i l u r e of t h e s e slensors,
5.1 Capsule P r e p a r a t i o n (Cont d )
9. Rewiring w a s done t o provide f o r an a d d i t i o n a l tower
s e p a r a t i o n s e n s o r r e l a y c o n t a c t t o g i v e redundancy t o t h e
l a n d i n g s y s t e m arming c i r c u i t .
5.2 Launch Operations
The launch procedures were a r r a n g e d i n a split-countdown
of 250 minutes on one day and 390 minutes on t h e f o l l o w i n g day.
The o p e r a t i o n s scheduled during t h e f i r s t p o r t i o n of t h e count-
down were completed approximately i n t h e a l l o t t e d t i m e .
problems rnzountered diirLng t h e Pa-uacli day
caused t h e launch t o be delayed f o r t h r e e hours and 54 minutes.
Minor d e l a y s were encountered because of a n o n o p e r a t i v e e l e v a t o r
on t h e g a n t r y , t o o many nonoperational people on t h e pad f o r
s a f e o p e r a t i o n , and o t h e r i n c i d e n t a l i t e m s . The ECS p r e p a r a t i o n s
r e q u i r e d 20 minutes more t h a n w a s provided f o r i n t h e f i n a l p r i n t e d
scheduze. This t i m e requirement w a s a n t i c i p a t e d b e f o r e p i c k i n g
up t h e c o u n t , and t h e problem w a s r e l i e v e d by h o l d i n g f o r 20
minutes a t -60 minutes. During the l a t t e r s t a g e s of t h e count
it appeared t h a t t h e 250 VA inverter t e m p e r a t u r e , which w a s
s t e a d i l y r i s i n g , might be c r i t i c a l l y h i g h b e f o r e launch. A t
-35 minutes when a hold was c a l l e d t o complete r e q u i r e d work,
i t was found n e c e s s a r y t o repair a b o o s t e r t a i l plug c o v e r f l a p .
I t w a s then d e c i d e d t o open t h e c a p s u l e and cool t h e i n v e r t e r .
The h o l d r e q u i r e d t w o hours and 2 4 minutes. The count was
r e c y c l e d t o -120 minutes a t t h e end of t h e h o l d . However, i t
was jumped a t o t a l of about 30 minutes by v i r t u e of d e l e t e d
o p e r a t i o n s p r e v i o u s l y accomplished. The launch occurred a t
1154 EST. A sequence of photographs showing t h e launch is
p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e 5.2-1.
Figure 5.2-1 MR-2 Launch Sequence

13
 5.3 Weather Conditions a t Launch
A t t i m e of l i f t - o f f , t h e weather was r e p o r t e d as f o l l o w s :
Planned l a n d i n g a r e a :
. Clouds - . 6 coverage
Waves -
5 feet
Surface winds -
18 knots"
Visibility -
10 m i l e s

Launch S i t e
C.louds - .3 coverage
-
~

Winds 9 knots from E a s t

Sea . L e v e l P r e s s u r e -30.31 inches
Visibility -10 m i l e s

:i ,>-
These atmospheric c o n d i t i o n s p e r m i t t e d good photographic
coverage.
, I , .
A p l o t of launch s i t e wipd g i r e c t i o n s anp v e l o c i t i e s n e a r
launqh, t,%me is p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e 5.3-1 f o r . i l t i t u d e s up t o
6 0 , 0 0 0 fleet.

14
.

0 0 0 0 0 0
(0 ux dc m cv PI
 6.0 TRAJECTORY AND BOOSTER PERFORMANCE
6.1 Trajectory
The t r a j e c t o r y d a t a p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s r e p o r t are based on
t h e real t i m e o u t p u t of t h e Range S a f e t y Impact P r e d i c t o r (IBM
709 Computer), t h e quick look AZUSA, and t h e quick look GBI
XN-2 radar d a t a . From l i f t - o f f t o about 0 2 : 1 3 , AZUSA w a s used
i n real t i m e . A t t h i s t i m e t h e AXUSA s y s t e m f a i l e d and t h e
i n p u t w a s s w i t c h e d t o t h e Cape FPS-16. Between 02:19 and 02:25
t h e s e d a t a were unusable because of e x c e s s i v e n o i s e d u r i n g t h e
escape maneuvers. A t approximately 07:17 t h e i n p u t w a s s w i t c h e d
t o XN-2. These d a t a were used u n t i l l o s s of s i g n a l n e a r 10:47.
The d a t a p r e s e n t e d in t h i s s e c t i o n are based on t h e f o l -
lowing tracking f a c i l i t i e s :
Facility Range Time. Minutes: Seconds
AZUSA 0O:ll - 02:13
Cape FPS-16 02:13 - 02~18
02:26 - 06:40

XIQ-2 06:40 - 10:47

A comparison o L e planneb and a c t u a l cutoff c o n d i t i o n s

is shown below:
-
Quantity Planned Actual ._ Difference
Cutbff sig n a l Fuel D e p l e t i o n
02 :18
L a t i t u d e , deg North 28020.95' 28020.1 ' -00.85'
Longitude, deg West 80012,19' 80011.5' -00.69'
Altitude, f e e t 198,967 218,000 20,033
Before A f t e r
Abort Abort
Inertial Velocity 7,408 8,
;ooom 592 1,042
f t/sec
Inertial f l i g h t - 40.680 42.27O 1.61"
p a t h a n g l e , deg

16
 6.1 T r a j e c t o r y (Cont'd)

Quantity Planned Actual Difference

Before A f t e r
. Earth-fixed v e l o c i t y ,
ft/sec
6,465 7,540 635 1,075

Earth-fixed f l i g h t - p a t h 48.30° 49.540 1.240b

a n g l e , deg

A comparison of a c t u a l and planned t r a j e c t o r y parameters

4- e
L,
-.
..
..
.. k-l-....
A 0 U L A V W Y UGAWWT.

Quantity Planned Actual

Range, n.m. 254.1 363

Apogee, n.m. 99.64 136.2
Zero g t i m e , min. 4.89 6.60
Max.booster l o a d f a c t o r , g 6.23 6.6
Max,capsule e x i t l o a d f a c t o r , g 17.0
Max. e n t r y l o a d f a c t o r , g 10.94 14.6
The ground t r a c k of t h e f l i g h t i s shown i n F i g u r e 6.1-1 and
t h e a l t i t u d e range p r o f i l e is shown in F i g u r e 6.1-2. Time
h i s t o r i e s of p e r t i n e n t q u a n t i t i e s are shown i n F i g u r e s 6.1.-3
t o 6.1-7. In each f i g u r e t h e measured v a l u e s d e r i v e d from
AZUSA and FPS-16 r a d a r d a t a are compared w i t h the p r e f l i g h t
planned t r a j e c t o r y ( z e r o winds) and t h e p o s t f l i g h t c a l c u l a t e d
t r a j e c t o r y i n c l u d i n g t h e e f f e c t s of t h e b o o s t e r e n g i n e m a l -
f u n c t i o n , t h e e s c a p e r o c k e t burning, t h e actual measured wind
p r o f i l e , and r e t r o r o c k e t s .
P r e f l i g h t and postT1ight d a t a (based on t h e cuto3'L condi-
t i o n s ) i n t h e t e r m i n a l r e g i o n of f l i g h t are shown i n F i g u r e 6.1-8.
The i n e r t i a l v e l o c i t y %n t h e r e g i o n of fuel d e p l e t i o n and
e s c a p e r o c k e t f i r i n g is shown i n F i g u r e 6.1-9. Smoothed Cape
FPS-16 d a t a and r a w GBI Xw-2 d a t a were used t o hepiye veXocity.
The r e l a t i v e l y h i g h p o i n t s from XN-2 a t t h e t i m e of 02:19 are
b e l i e v e d t o be e r r o n e o u s because of t h e method of d a t a r e d u c t i o n
used. The i n e r t i a l v e l o c i t y gained from t h e escape r o c k e t is
about 450 f t p e r sec. This is approximately t h e v a l u e t h a t
would be expected f o r t h e s e f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s . A d i s c u s s i o n of
t r a j e c t o r y computing eqgipment, d a t a from syqtem o p e r a t i o n ,
and P l o t b o a r d d i s p l a y s &re presented in t h e Appendixv

17
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 6.2 Booster Performance
The b o o s t e r ' s p r o p e l l a n t consumption s e r i o u s l y exceeded
t h e r a t e planned f o r i n t h i s m i s s i o n . Consequently, p r o p e l l a n t
d e p l e t i o n o c c u r r e d 0 . 5 seconds p r i o r t o t h e preprogrammed
arming of t h e v e l o c i t y c u t o f f f u n c t i o n , and 0 . 5 seconds p r i o r
t o t h e disarming of t h e chamber p r e s s u r e s w i t c h i n t h e a b o r t
s e n s i n g network. Thus, when p r o p e l l a n t d e p l e t i o n o c c u r r e d ,
an a b o r t s i g n a l was generated and s e t t o t h e c a p s u l e .
. During t h e f l i g h t t h e t h r u s t chamber p r e s s u r e reached a
maximum of 342 p s i a , dropping slowly t o 334 p s i a , a s compared
t o 317.5 p s i a f o r normal o p e r a t i o n . Abnormal o p e r a t i o n of t h e
r o c k e t e n g i n e was, i n t u r n , caused by abnormal o p e r a t i o n of
t h e t u r b i n e pump f e e d i n g LOX and p r o p e l l a n t a s a r e s u l t of
two f a c t o r s :
1. There was a malfunction of t h e t h r u s t r e g u l a t i o n
s y s t e m . T h i s caused a wide open hydrogen p e r o x i d e flow t o t h e
gas g e n e r a t o r f e e d i n g t h e steam t u r b i n e pump.
2. The hydrogen peroxide f e e d p r e s s u r e was above
normal v a l u e . Normally t h e hydrogen p e r o x i d e tank is r e g u l a t e d
t o a p r e s s u r e of 590 p s i g . I n t h i s case t h e p r e s s u r e exceeded
t h e upper l i m i t s of t h e range of t h e telemetered s i g n a l which
cannot i n d i c a t e p r e s s u r e above 600 p s i g .
Booster s e q u e n t i a l f u n c t i o n s were a s shown below:
Time (Min :Sec)

1. Flow r a t e s t a r t s d e c r e a s i n g 02317.6
2. F i r s t combustion p r e s s u r e decay 02:17.6
3. A c c e l e r a t i o n drops 02:17.8
4. P r e s s u r e chamber switches 1 and 2
closure 02:17.8
5. Abort bus h o t 02:17.8
6. Electrical separation 02 : 18
7. Adapter r i n g v i b r a t i o n 02:17.9
8. Abort from c a p s u l e 02 :18
9. I n t e g r a t o r c u t o f f and p r e s s u r e
s e n s o r disarm 02 :18.3
The Automatic Abort Sensing System f u n c t i o n e d normally.
No f a l s e s i g n a l s were generated, b u t t h e t h r u s t chamber p r e s s u r e
s e n s i n g s w i t c h e s i n i t i a t e d an a b o r t s i g n a l when p r o p e l l a n t
d e p l e t i o n o c c u r r e d and chamber p r e s s u r e dropped.

27
 7.0 CAPSULE MEASUREMENTS AND SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE
Capsule systems generally performed satisfactorily through-
out the MR-2 flight, with three major exceptions:
1. Failure to maintain cabin pressure during flight.
2. Failure of the landing bag system to perform satisfactorily.
3. Failure of the pressure vessel to remain watertight after
landing.
A summary of measurements obtained and general systems per-
formance is presented in the following paragraphs.
7.1 Measurements
7.1.1 Accelerations
The longitudinal acceleration data are presented in
Figures 7.1.1-1 and 7.1.1-2 fsr the exit and re-entry, respectively.
The acceleration increased from 1.2 g at lift-off to 6.5 g at
02:17, the time of booster cutoff. At 02:18 the capsule began
the abort sequence. Peak acceleration during escape rocket firing
was 17.0 g. After escape rocket firing, the acceleration decayed
to zero and the period of weightlessness began and continued for
about 6-1/2 minutes. First measurable deceleration occurred dur-
ing re-entry at 09:20, reaching a maximum of 14.6 g at 09:36 and
decaying to 1.3 g at loss of telemetry signal (10:20) at Cape
Canaveral. Examination of onboard records showed that drogue
Chute deployment caused a pulse of less than 0.5 g at 10 :54 and
that a 3 g pulse was experienced at deployment of main chute at
11:28. Throughout the flight, lateral and normal accelerations
were small prior to landing.
Landing accelerations as recorded by the three peak-
reading accelerometers installed in the instrumentation pallet
were as follows:
x (lateral) Y (normal) Z (longitudinal)
+3.5g +3.4g +20g o r greater*
-4.7g -16.8g -7g
*Amount over 20g is not accurately known because of instru-
ment limitations.
Both the maximum longitudinal and normal accelerations were
roughly twice the values experienced in qualification air drops
of the impact bag system in a rough sea condition. It was not
possible to determine the sea condition, surface winds, and
capsule attitude at impact for the MR-2 flight, but the rate of
descent is known to be normal.

28
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7.1.2 Temperatures
Thermocouples were i n s t a l l e d t o measure c a p s u l e
t e m p e r a t u r e s as f o l l o w s :
1. Outer s k i n temperature on t h e conicall a f t e r b o d y ,
2. I n n e r s k i n temperatune on t h e c o n i c a l a f t e r b o d y .
3. H e a t s h i e l d temperature.

4. I n v e r t e r temperature.
Cabin a i r and s u i t i n l e t t e m p e r a t u r e s were also
measured and are d i s c u s s e d i n paragraph 7 . 4 .
Outer s k i n temperature, F i g u r e 7.1.2-1, rose t o a
m a x i m u m of 310°F d u r i n g e x i t . Maximum o u t e r skin temperatuve
d u r i n g r e - e n t r y was 255OF. T h e s e t e m p e r a t u r e s are as would be
expected.
I n n e r s k i n temperature rose g r a d u a l l y from an i n i t i a l
v a l u e of 96OF a t l i f t - o f f t o 120°F a t 1O:OO and c o o l e d t o 114OF
a t l o s s of s i g n a l (1.0:20).
H e a t s i n k edge t e m p e r a t u r e , F i g u r e 7.1.2-1, d i d n o t
r i s e a p p r e c i a b l y u n t i l r e - e n t r y , at which t i m e a maximum tempera-
t u r e change of -OF was measured.
The above temperatures are c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e
t r a j e c t o r y flown.
The i n v e r t e r temperature caused c o w i d e r a 0 l e c o n c e r n
i n t h e p r e l a u n c h phase and i s d i s c u s s e d i n detail i n t h e Appendix.

31
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I 7.2 Automatic S t a b i l i z a t i o n and C o n t r o l System (ASCS)
A t t h e t i m e of c a p s u l e s e p a r a t i o n 02:18, t h e c a p s u l e
( w i t h t h e e s c a p e tower a t t a c h e d ) r o t a t e d about a l l three axes.
The motions i n p i t c h , yaw and r o l l c o n t i n u e d a f t e r tower sepa-
r a t i o n , and a t 03:54 t h e c a p s u l e became a t t i t u d e s t a b i l i z e d
i n p i t c h (-50') and yaw (225O) w i t h a s t e a d y r o l l r a t e of 9.5O/
sec. The e x a c t motions of the c a p s u l e d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d from
02:18 t o 03:54 are as y e t unknown because t h e r o l l i n g motions
of t h e c a p s u l e made t h e a t t i t u d e measurements u n r e l i a b l e .
The p i t c h and yaw motions were imparted t o t h e c a p s u l e by
e s c a p e r o c k e t f i r i n g . The r o l l rate of t h e c a p s u l e r e s u l t e d
I because t h e .05g relay c l o s e d and p l a c e d t h e ASCS i n t h e damp-
iag and constant r o i l r a t e mode n o r m a l l y calied f o r d u r i n g re-
e n t r y . The closure of t h e .05g r e l a y r e s u l t e d from e i t h e r one
o r a31 of t h e f o l l o w i n g :
- 1.

( a ) Drag r e s u l t i n g from a combination of 3 . 5 p s i

dynamic p r e s s u r e and t h e heat s i n k forward o r i e n t a t i o n of t h e
I capsule a t t h i s t i m e .
(b) Tail-off of the e s c a p e r o c k e t f i r i n g .
(c) C e n t r i f u g a l f o r c e s r e s u l t i n g from capsuhe
rotat ion.
From 03:54 u n t i l 08:53, t h e c a p s u l e a t t i t u d e remainect
approximately c o n s t a n t i n p i t c h and yaw w i t h a s t e a d y r o l z rate
of 9.5O/sec. This r o l l r a t e is v e r y c l o s e t o t h e d e s i g n r e q u i r e -
ment of 10°/sec t o 12O/sec. There were no p u l s e s from t h e RCS
d u r i n g t h i s t i m e i n t e r v a l . The measurements o b t a i n e d from t h e
a t t i t u d e g y r o s d u r i n g t h i s time i n t e r v a l were s i n u s o i d a l i n a l l
a t h r e e a x e s and t h e amplitude and p e r i o d s were c o n s t a n t . See
F i g u s e 7.2-1. I t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e ASCS damped t h e p i t c h and
yaw r a t e s t o aero a t about 03.54 and t h a t no rates i n p i t c h and
yaw in excess of t h e boundaries r e q u i r e d t o i n i t i a t e AWS a c t i o n
were e x p e r i e n c e d d u r i n g t h i s f i v e minute p e r i o d .
A t 0 8 : 5 5 t h e c a p s u l e began t o respond t o r e - e n t r y aero-
dynamic d i s t r u b a n c e s and t h e ASCS showed t h e proper r e s p o n s e
t o t h e s e d i s t u r b a n c e s . A l s o , a t t h i s t i m e , t h e c a p s u l e began
t o t u r n around, and r e - e n t e r e d t h e atmosphere w i t h t h e h e a t s h i e l d
p o i n t e d i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of f l i g h t .
From d a t a o b t a i n e d , it appears t h a t t h e automatic s t a b i l i -
zation and c o n t r o l system f u n c t i o n e d as d e s i g n e d f o r t h i s mode
of o p e r a t i o n ,

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7.3 Reaction C o n t r o l System (RCS)
The RCS f u n c t i o n e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y throughout t h e m i s s i o n .
Between 0 . 0 5 g r e l a y a c t u a t i o n and tower s e p a r a t i o n , t h e
automatic system expended approximately 13 pounds of hydrogen
peroxide. A n a n a l y s i s of t h e r e s u l t i n g r e a c t i o n of t h e c a p s u l e
t o t h i s e x p e n d i t u r e of f u e l i n d i c a t e d t h a t a s p e c i f i c impulse
of 120 sec was achieved. This v a l u e a p p e a r s t o be s a t i s f a c t o r y .
The s y s t e m w a s n o t c a l l e d upon t o o p e r a t e f o r approximately
f i v e minutes a f t e r tower s e p a r a t i o n . During r e - e n t r y approxi-
m a t e l y 14 pounds of hydrogen peroxide were expended, and t h e
f u e l w a s exhausted a t n e a r l y t h e same t i m e as drogue c h u t e
deployment. The p u l s e d u r a t i o n w a s s o s h o r t d u r i n g r e - e n t r y
t h a t i t w a s i m p o s s i b l e to determine src Isp. The manus; system
w a s emptied 45 seconds. a f t e r t h e s i g n a l w a s given t o j e t t i s o n
f u e l . The v a r i a t i o n of f u e l consumption w i t h f l i g h t t i m e is
p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e 7.3-1.
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36
 7.4 Environmental C o n t r o l System
Although t h e cabin f a i l e d t o m a i n t a i n p r e s s u r e d u r i n g t h e
f l i g h t , t h e emergency s u i t s y s t e m o p e r a t e d as d e s i g n e d and
provided a s a t i s f a c t o r y environment f o r t h e a n i m a l occupant,
- F i g u r e 7.4-1. The f o l l o w i n g sequence of e v e n t s has been es-
t a b l i s h e d as a r e s u l t of a n a l y s e s of t h e a v a i l a b l e data:

(a) During a s c e n t , a t 0 0 : 5 7 , t h e i n f l o w s n o r k e l
v a l v e opened, p l a c i n g t h e s u i t c i r c u i t i n t h e p o s t l a n d i n g mode,
and c a u s i n g t h e c a b i n p r e s s u r e t o decay t o a v a l u e s l i g h t l y
above ambient through t h e n e g a t i v e p r e s s u r e r e l i e f v a l v e and
t h e n through t h e open i n l e t d n o r k e l . T h i s c o n d i t i o n o c c u r r e d
a t approximately 18,000 f e e t .

(b) The s u i t c i r c u i t m a i n t a i n e d approximately d e s i g n

c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e d u r a t i o n of t h e f l i g h t .
(c) The c a b i n p r s s s u r e iwreased d u r i n g descent, a t
f i r s t through t h e c a b i n relief v a l v e . a n d t h e n through t h e o u t -
flow s n o r k e l v a l v e when t h i s opened a t 20,000 f e e t . I t is
b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e i n l e t s n o r k e l v a l v e w a s o p e r a t e d e i t h e r by
v i b r a t i o n o r by premature s q u i b f i r i n g . A t a c t u a t i o n of t h i s
v a l v e , three e v e n t s p r o p e r l y occurred:
1. The emergency mode w a s i n i t i a t e d . On-
board f i l m s u b s t a n t i a t e s t h i s .
2 . The cabin fan was t u r n e d off 9s evidenced
by a r e d u c t i o n i n DC c u r r e n t &tt h i s t i m e .

3. The s u i t fan rkept o p e r a t i n g .

The s u i t maintained p r e s s u r e because of t h e oheck v a l v e

i n *he i n l e t s n o r k e l v a l v e l i n e provided f o r t h l i ipurpose.
The suit c i r c u i t w a s r e g u l a t e d t o 5 , s p $ i a , which i s above
s p e c i f i c a t i o n , The p r e s s u r e traosduow was ind-ting 0.4 psi
above normal a% launch and t h e r e f o r e t h e r‘egulator wae probably
O p e r a t i n g abov6 t o l e r a n a d ,
The c a b i n p r e s s u r e r e l i e f v a l v e appears t o have o p e r a t e d
as d e s i g n e d . P o s t f l i g h t tests i n t h e a l t i t u d e chamber showed
i t t o be i n normal working c o n d i t i o n .
Onboard f i l m r e c o r d s were used f o r this ; a n q l y s i a , because
t h e r e are s e l f - c o n t a i n e d , d i r e c t - r e i a d i n g , p r e s s u r e gapges-.”on’cthe
i n s t r u m e n t panel. Telemetry r e c o r d s of pressur.e are somewhat
c o n f u s i n g because d u r i n g descent, t h e y show t h a t t h e c a b i n p r e s s u r e
37
7.4 Environmental C o n t r o l System (Cont'd)
w a s about 1 p s i a above ambient, These data are o b t a i n e d from
t r a n s d u c e r s w i t h a range of 0-25 psia.-and w i t h an accuracy of
about -+ 1 psia.

A f t e r t h e f a i l u r e of t h e i n f l o w v a l v e , t h e ECS o erated as
designed. S u i t and c a b i n temperatures ranged from 58' and 102OF
a t launch, t o 6 6 O and 1090F a t l a n d i n g , r e s p e c t i v e l y . The c a b i n
t e m p e r a t u r e reached a m a x i m u m o€ 115OF a t e i g h t minutes after
launch.

.38
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 7.5 E l e c t r i c a l and S e q u e n t i a l
A l l d a t a i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e c a p s u l e e l e c t r i c a l and
s e q u e n t i a l s y s t e m s perTormed a s e x p e c t e d f o r an-h.t)ort maneuver.
The t i m e of major e v e n t s was a s shown below: I1.'

, .

Lift-off - 1154 :51.82 FST

Range z e r o - 1154:51 EST
...
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
EVENT PRFtDICTED TIME ACTUAL TIME
FwY ZEm FROM 'RANGE ZERO
Mayday
Tower escape r o c k e t p2:23.32 , p2:18.0
Capsule s e p a r a t i o n 92 :23.32 02:18.0
Retropack J e t t i s o n 06 : 11.82 02:18.8
.05g s i g n a l 07:41.22 02:23.0
Tower j e t t i s o n 02.23.32 02:50.7
Time of r e t r o f i r e s i g n a l 04 :41.82 04:52.6
Drogue deploy 09: 33.82 10.54.3
Main c h u t e deploy 10:13.12 11.28.0
L o s s of s i g n a l 16:39.0
( p r o b a b l e impact)
A t 00:57, t h e PC current started t o d e c , r e w e from a v a l u e
of 28?6 amps, and reached a low valud of 25.3" amps. T h i s v a l u e
~ w a s m a i n t a i n e d u n t i l th$ beginning' of t h e escape maneuver.
T h i s r e d u c t i o n is compa'tibae with t'h?
ECB.
changg . hi*mode of t h e
I.
. I

- Time h i s t o r i e s of c u r r e n t , Idc v o l t a g p , and AC v o l t a g e

are p r e s e n t e d i n FigureL'x.5-1".' ; LA I

.
.-
I
7.6 Communications and Tracking Systems
The data reviewed f o r t h e YR-2 mission d i d n o t r e v e a l any
major i m c o m p a t i b i l i t i e s between v e h i c l e and ground r a n g e equip-
ment o r major problem areas r e q u i r i n g c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n .
The playback of t h e UHF v o i c e , as recorded a t t h e Grand
Bahama I s l a n d S t a t i o n and in t h e c a p s u l e , i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e
v o i c e communication w a s f a i r f o r t h e ranges i n v o l v e d . See
F i g u r e 7.6-1. For UHF r e c e p t i o n i n t h e Mercury C o n t r o l Center
see S e c t i o n 9.3.
The t r a c k i n g data from t h e A t l a n t i c Missile Range radar
s i t z s (teii C ziiif radar sthtionsj iocated a t Cape Canaverai,
F l o r i d a ; P a t r i c k A i r Force B a s e , F l o r i d a ; Grand Bahama I s l a n d ,
and San Salvador, i n d i c a t e d continuous t r w k i n g throughout t h e
t r a j e c t o r y from launch t o m a i n p a r a c h u t e deployment ( F i g u r e 7.6-2).
I n m o s t cases t h e radars a c q u i r e d t h e target a t lout e l e v a t i o n
a n g l e s and l o s t track a t Oo e l e v a t i o n . I n g e n e r a l , t h e C and S
band beacons and ground radars performed as i n t e n d e d .

Retrocommand w a s t r a n s m i t t e d a t 04 :41. However, because

of t h e a b o r t on t h i s m i s s i o n and a consequent r e t r o j e t t i s o n ,
c o n f i r m a t i o n by t e l e m e t r y w a s n o t p o s s i b l e .
Telemetry t r a n s m i s s i o n was c o n s i d e r e d good throughout t h e
m i s s i o n e x c e p t f o r occ4,sional d r o p o u t s which a f f e c t e d real-time
d i s p l a y s a t t h e Mercury C o n t r o l C e n t e r .
The UHF recovery beacon performed wela, as recovery a i r c r a f t
i n d i c a t e d t h a t beacon s i g n a l s were receivcxj up t o one hundred and
t h i r t y n a u t i c a l m i l e s a f t e r main p a r a c h u t e deployment (time of
beacon a c t i v a t i o n ) .
UHF v o i c e T/R CW mode w a s c o n s i d e r e d t o perform w e l l .
Recovery a i r c r a f t qpported r e c e i v i n a s i g p a l s a t a 50 m i l e ra;nge.
T h i s mode is a c t u g t k q g t a n a l t i t u d e of @,OOO f e e t .

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 7.7 Instrumentation
I n g e n e r a l , c a p s u l e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n performed very satis-
f a c t o r i l y throughout t h e f l i g h t . Photographic data from t h e
three onboard cameras were adequate f o r e n g i n e e r i n g e v a l u a t i o n ,
and t h e t a p e from t h e onboard recorder w a s of good q u a l i t y .
The i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of the f o l l o w i n g :
1. Telemetry
(a) Commutated c h a n n e l s
(b) Continuous channels (biomedical)
2. Cameras
(a) Instrument panel (16 mm)
(b) Primate o b s e r v e r (16 mm)
(c) E a r t h and Sky (70 mm)

3. Onboard t a p e recorder
4. Peak-reading impact a c c e l e r o m e t e r s
7.7.1 Telemetry s y s t e m performance
1. Commutated channels -
a l l ommutated c h a n n e l s
* o p e r a t e d p r o p e r l y throughout t h e f l i g h t , w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g
exceptions:
*
(a) Commutator A , segment 20, o u t e r s k i n
t e m p e r a t u r e t r a n s d u c e r and Commutator 'B, segment 19, heat
s h i e l d temperature t r a n s d u c e r .

(b) Cammutator A and B, time-since-launch

segments, i n t e r i m clock. The time-fron-launch c o u n t e r stopped
d u r i n g p e r i o d s of h i g h a c c e l e r a t i o n a n d a p p e a r e d t o be runnkng
f a s t d u r i n g f l i g h t . T h i s same r e s u l t o c c u r r e d - on t h e MR-1A .
f l i g h t and was e x p e c t e d on t h i s f l i g h t . Tlie q u a l i t y of t h e
t r a n s m i t t e d s i g n a l s w a s e x c e l l e n t d u r i n g p e r i o d s of u s a b l e
s t r e n g t h . The s y s t e m n o i s e was l e s s t h a n , t w o p e r c e n t and t h e
decommutated data were a c c e p t a b l e .
2. Continuous channels -
a l l three c o n t i n u o u s
c h a n n e l s performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . These c h a n n e l s t r a n s m i t t e d
biomedical i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n s i s t i n g of EgG and r e s p i r a t i o n r a t e
and depth measurements.
 7.7.2 Cameras
1. Instrument panel camera -O p e r a t i o n of t h i s
camera was e x c e l l e n t d u r i n g f l i g h t . T h i s camera w a s p a r t i a l l y
emersed i n water d u r i n g t h e recovery period. Salt water pene-
t r a t e d t h e c o v e r s and caused some dark l i n e s a l o n g t h e edge
of t h e f i l m . The p i c t u r e s o b t a i n e d were s a t i s f a c t o r y and
acceptable p r i n t s of t h e f i l m have been made.
2 . Primate o b s e r v e r camera - O p e r a t i o n of t h i s
camera w a s s a t i s f a c t o r y . P i c t u r e s of t h e animal were o b t a i n e d
throughout t h e f l i g h t . The mirror normally viewed by t h i s
oamera t o add t i m e c o r r e l a t i o n w a s obscured by t h e couch,
making t i m e C o r r e l a t i o n d i f f i c u l t .
3. E a r t h and Sky camera -
The p i c t u r e s o b t a i n e d
from t h i s camera d u r i n g f l i g h t were e x c e l l e n t . Super-
anscochrome color f i l m w a s used.
7.7.3 Onboard tape r e c o r d e r
T h i s r e c o r d e r operated c o n t i n u o u s l y throughout t h e
f l i g h t and a l l tracks recorded. When t h e recordBr w a s removed
from the c a p s u l e a f t e r recovery, s a l t w a t e r w a s s t i l l d r a i n i n g
from t h e case, i n d i c a t i n g a n i n a d e q u a t e water s e a l . The tape
w a s washed i n f r e s h water, d r i e d , and tape copies were made.
The data appeared t o b e of e x c e l l e n t q u a l i t y .

7.7.4 PahL-read%n@accelerometers
S i n c e t h e s t a n d a r d Mercury i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n c o u l d
n o t measure l a n d i n g a c c e l e r a t i o n , three peak-reading accelerL
ometers of +20 g range were added. Data w e r e good, a l t h o u g h
t h e y cannotube t ime-correlated.
7.7.5 Instrumentation preparation
S e v e r a l m o d i f i c a t i o n s of equipment were necessary
t o make t h e system f l i g h t w o r t h y
d i s c u s s e d i n t h e Appenflix.
. These m o d i f i c a t i o n s are

46
7.8 Mechanical Systems
7.8.1 Pyrotechnics

A l l p y r o t e c h n i c s f i r e d w i t h no a p p a r e n t m i s f i r e s .
However, t h e c a p s u l e lower u m b i l i c a l d i s c o n n e c t d i d n o t
s e p a r a t e @ee S e c t i o n 1 1 . 1 ) . As d i s c u s s e d i n S e c t i o n 7 . 4 ,
premature s q u i b f i r i n g could have caused t h e i n l e t s n o r k e l
v a l v e t o open prematurely.
7.8.2 P a r a c h u t e System

T e l e m e t r y records i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e drogue and

gain prachu+,es openes at design 81+_f+_U&!S prQdEQj.ng p_y_gepfpd
d e c e l e r a t i o n s . The c a p s u l e rate of d e s c e n t w h i l e on t h e main
p a r a c h u t e n e a r l a n d i n g impact was 28 f t / s e c . A l l j e t t i s o n i n g
d e v i c e s worked p r o p e r l y .
7.8.3 Landing Bag
The l a n d i n g bag s t r u c k t h e bottom of t h e c a p s u l e at
impact p u n c t u r i n g t w o small h o l e s i n t h e lower p r e s s u r e bulk-
head (see S e c t i o n 1 1 . 0 ) . I t is b e l i e v e d t h a t a t some t i m e a f t e r
impact, wave a c t i o n f a t i g u e d t h e s t r a p s , b r e a k i n g them from t h e
c a p s u l e and a l l o w i n g t h e h e a t s h i e l d t o s i n k . The reduced water
s t a b i l i t y of t h e c a p s u l e without t h e h e a t s i n k caused it t o
e v e n t u a l l y l a y o v e r on its s i d e i n a n e a r h o r i z o n t a l p o s i t i o n .
Water may t h e n have e n t e r e d t h e c a p s u l e through t h e o u t l e t
s n o r k e l and c a b i n p r e s s u r e r e l i e f v a l v e s . The c a p s u l e took
on a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of water. In f a c t , as r e p o r t e d l a t e r
i n S e c t i o n 10, i t w a s n e a r submersion a t t h e t i m e o f r e c o v e r y .
7.8.4 Quick-opening Hatch
The mechanical type quick-opening h a t c h a p p a r e n t l y
+performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y and no problems were i n d i c a t e d .

47
 8.0 AEROMEDICAL REPORT

8.1 P r e f l i g h t Operations
In accordance w i t h t h e o b j e c t i v e s of t h e animal t e s t
program (NASA-STG working paper N o . 158), t h e MR-2 v e h i c l e
had a chimpanzee occupant t o p r o v i d e animal v e r i f i c a t i o n of
t h e s u c c e s s w i t h which t h e Mercury s y s t e m c o u l d be a p p l i e d
i n manned f l i g h t . Chimpanzee number 65, f i g u r e 8.1-1, w a s
s e l e c t e d by t h e A i r Force Missile Development C e n t e r ' s Aero-
medical F i e l d Laboratory group as t h e primary f l i g h t s u b j e c t
on t h e b a s i s of a complete p h y s i c a l examination and h i s psycho-
motor performance r e c o r d . H e weighed 37-1/2 l b s , w a s 3 years
8 m o n t h s o l d , and had no s e r i o u s i l l n e s s i n t h e p a s t s i x months.
H i s general condition p r i o r t o f l i g h t w a s e x c e l l e n t . Pulse
w a s 120 p e r minute, r e s p i r a t i o n 26 p e r minute, blood p r e s s u r e
approximately 130/105 mm fig, Sensor i n s t a l l a t i o n and s u i t i n g
s t a r t e d a t -9 h o u r s , 24 minutes on launch day. By -6 hours
54 m i n u t e s , t h e animal w a s i n s t a l l e d i n t h e couch. By -5
hours 54 minutes t h e couch was p l a c e d i n t h e c a p s u l e , and t h e
a n i m a l ' s c o n d i t i o n monitored by h a r d l i n e f o r f i v e hours dur-
i n g a number of h o l d s u n t i l j u s t b e f o r e l i f t - o f f .
Throughout t h i s p e r i o d h i s p u l s e r a t e remained c o n s t a n t
a t approximately 120 p e r m i n u t e . ResRiwation s t a y e d c o n s t a n t
a t approximately 30 p e r minute and body t e m p e r a t u r e s t a b i l i z e d
a t 99OF. The animal appeared r e l a x e d and showed r e s t i h g v a l u e s
s i g n i f i o a n t l y less t h a n those o b t a i n e d d u r i n g c o n t r o l normal
work p e r i o d s measured f o u r days p r e v i o u s l y .
8,2 Flight
*oughout t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t p e r i o d t h e animal was sub-
m i t t e d t o two s i m u l t a n e o u s t a s k s upon r i g h t and l e f t hand
l e v e r s on a p a n e l in f r o n t of him. A r e d l i g h t above t h e r i g h t
lever s i g n a l l e d t h e requirement t o d e p r e s s i t a t l e a s t once
e v e r y 20 seconds t o avoid a S l i g h t shock. N o r m a l l y , t h e animal
d e p r e s s e s t h e lever approximately 60 times a minute. H e main-
t a i n e d t h i s r a t e throughout t h e b o o s t and zero g r a v i t y phases
of t h e f l i g h t . During t h e r e - e n t r y and p a r a c h u t e flaqg,ernt t h e
r a t e f e l l b u t d i d n o t d i s a p p e a r . A b l u e l i g h t abova, t h e l e f t
l e v e r s i g n a l l e d t h a t a shock would b e ' g i v e a i n f i v e seconds
u n l e s s i t w a s d e p r e s s e d . He performed t h i s r e a c t i o n t e s t
f a u l t l e s s l y respanding r a p i d l y and e f f e c t i v e l y throughout t h e
flight.

48
 .(. . I

FIGURE 8 . 1 - 1 CHIMPANZEE BEFORE FLIGHT

 8.0 AEROMEDICAL REPORT (CONT' D)

8.2 F l i g h t (Cont'd)

F i g u r e s 8.2-1 through 8.2-6 are 30 second segments t h a t

have been e x t r a c t e d from t h e c o n t i n u o u s r e c o r d s t a k e n d u r i n g
a c o n t r o l p e r i o d , a t m a x i m u m t h r u s t , immediately a f t e r abort,
a f t e r s e v e r a l minutes of &Po g , d u r i n g max r e - e n t r y g , and
during parachute descent, respectively.
During t h e f i r s t two minutes and twenty seconds, w h i l e
t h e g l o a d i n g s i n c r e a s e d , p u l s e and r e s p i r a t i o n also i n c r e a s e d ,
---
n -e g k i n g
r +,he 17 g esc~ipe thrust. Ecrfng the subsequent
six and one-balf minutes of W e i g h t l e s s n e s s , p u l s e and r e s p i r a t i o n
deGreased s t e a d i l y by approximately 20 p o i n t s r e t u r n i n g towards
p r e l a u n c h r e s t i n g l e v e l s , w h i l e t h e l e v e r r e s p o n s e r a t e appears
from p r e l i m i n a r y approximate c h e c k s t o have been m a i n t a i n e d un-
changed. The animal w a s d i s t u r b e d by t h e o n s e t of t h e r e - e n t r y
a c c e l e r a t i o n , c a p s u l e o s c i l l a t i o n s , and t h e deployment of t h e
main c h u t e . During t h e two minutes t h a t these e v e n t s took place,
p u l s e and r e s p i r a t i o n rates rose s i g n i f i c a n t l y , i . e . , from 100
t o 160 p e r minute and 35 to 65 per minute, r e s p e c t i v e l y . During
t h e subsequent f i v e minute p e r i o d of 1 g d e s c e n t on t h e para-
c h u t e , t h e p u l s e and r e s p i r a t i o n r a t e d e c l i n e d somewhat.
Body temperature d i d not change s i g n i f i c a n t l y and couch
p r e s s u r e w a s maintained d e s p i t e 1 0 s ~of c a b i n p r e s s u r e ,

50
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 8.3 Recovery
A f t e r recovery t h e hatch was removed and t h e couch viewed.
Condensedmaistum on t h e i n s i d e of t h e couch l i d precluded
clear v i s i o n of t h e animal, b u t movement w a s detected and he
. was heard making v o c a l sounds. I t is b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e f a n s were
s t i l l running. A t 3 h o u r s and 50 minutes t h e ECS hoses t o t h e
couch were d i s c o n n e c t e d and f r e s h a i r under p r e s s u r e was i n t r o -
duced through the ECS i n l e t . The n e a r hand h o l d c o v e r of t h e
couch was removed a t 3 hours, 55 minutes, The animal was t a k e n
from t h e couch t o t h e s h i p ’ s s i c k bay where a p h y s i c a l examin-
a t i o n w a s performed ( F i g u r e 8.3-1). R e s p i r a t i o n was 32 p e r
minute and blood p r e s s u r e , 130/90 mm Hg a s r e c o r d e d b e f o r e t h e
f l i g h t . The h a i r c o a t , eyes and ears, skin and mucous membrane
were normal. S t e t h o s c o p i c examination of t h e h e a r t and lungs
r e v e a l e d no abnormal sounds and t h e t o r s o and e x t r e m i t i e s were
p a l p a t e d and no f r a c t u r e s or obvious i n j u r i e s were found. No
d r u g s o r o t h e r t h e r a p y were deemed n e c e s s a r y and none were
administered.
Examination of t h e couch on t h e DONNER f o l l o w i n g pickup
showed one t o t w o t e a s p o o n f u l s of very r e c e n t l y d e p o s i t e d
mucous or vomitus which w a s f l e c k e d w i t h blood. I t is b e l i e v e d
t h a t t h e animal s t r u g g l e d and swallowed a i r w h i l e on h i s s i d e
i n t h e water and t h a t he belched up a s m a l l amount when t h e
c a p s u l e w a s r i g h t e d d u r i n g t h e h e l i c o p t e r f l i g h t . The blood
f l e c k s appear t o have d e r i v e d from a s m a l l s e l f - i n f l i c t e d a b r a s i o n
on t h e b r i d g e of t h e nose. T h i s f i n d i n g is c o n s i d e r e d a post-
f l i g h t o c c u r r e n c e and i r r e l e v a n t t o t h e f l i g h t i t s e l f .
A t 0830 EST on t h e f o l l o w i n g day, a n o t h e r p h y s i c a l examin-
a % 2 ~ : ’ @ $ t j j ~ ~ ~ ~ wi id ns aperformed
1’ a t t h e Downrange Land-based
Medical F a c i l i t y on Grand Bahama I s l a n d . The r e s u l t s of t h i s
more complete examination were t h e same a s t h o s e o b t a i n e d on t h e
DONNER. I n a d d i t i o n , a c h e s t x-ray w a s taken. I t showed no
a b n o r m a l i t i e s . A t 1300 EST, t h e a n i m a l was t r a n s f e r r e d by a i r -
c r a f t t o t h e compound a t Hangar S where on February 2 , he was
f u r t h e r checked and found t o be normal and f i t f o r work on h i s
couch.

57
*'

-
FIGURE 8.3-1 CHIMPANZEE A F T E R F L I G H T
58
8.4 Equipment Performance
The couch f u n c t i o n e d very s a t i s f a c t o r i l y and on recovery
was found t o be i n p e r f e c t working o r d e r , i n c l u d i n g t h e psycho-
motor a p p a r a t u s . The e l e c t r o c a r d i o g r a p h s e n s o r s performed
s a t i s f a c t o r i l y though t h e r e was t h e expected marked s h i f t of
b a s e l i n e d u r i n g v i o l e p t movement. The r e s p i r a t p r y s e n s o r w a s
v e r y e f f e c t i v e and t h e r e c t a l t h e r m i s t e r performed w e l l . All
telemetry c h a n n e l s o p e r a t e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n
t h a t EKG No. 2 c o n t i n u e d t o g i v e t h e same low s i g n a l t h a t had
been observed p r i o r t o launch. The couch envirbnmental d o n t r o l
s y s t e m w a s very s a t i s f a c t o r y i n s p i t e of t h e m a l f u n c t i o n of t h e
c a b i n p r e s s u r i z a t i o n s y s t e m . The animal i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n and
*. ., _ _ _ _
uenaviorai t e s t apparatus worked weii.

8.5 Primate Performance

Q u a n t i t a t i v e d a t a i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e animal w a s n o t d i s -
t u r b e d by t h e s i x and one-half minutes of w e i g h t l e s s f l i g h t t o
which he was s u b j e c t e d . H e t o l e r a t e d t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n of e s c a p e
motor f i r i n g a t t h e end of b o o s t e r burning and r e - e n t r y decelera-
t i o n , c o n t i n u o u s l y performing h i s given t a s k ,

59
 9.1
9.0
F l i g h t Control
-
FLIGHT CONTROL AND MERCURY CONTROL CENTER PERFORMANCE

The Mercury Control C e n t e r (MCC) adequately s u p p o r t e d t h e

f l i g h t c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n for t h e MR-2 m i s s i o n , however, w i t h
r e s p e c t t o i m p l i c a t i o n s o r t h e performance of t h e s e f u n c t i o n s
f o r an o r b i t a l mission a number of problems were e v i d e n t .
These problems were a s s o c i a t e d b o t h w i t h equipment d e s i g n
and o p e r a t i o n a l procedures. In a d d i t i o n t o t h e i n f o r m a t i o n
given i n t h i s s e c t i o n , a d d i t i o n a l d e t a i l s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n
S e c t i o n 14.

60
 9.2 Telemeter Reception and Real Time D i s p l a y s
A l l t e l e m e t r y equipment f u n c t i o n e d c o r r e c t l y w i t h t h e f o l -
lowing e x c e p t i o n s . A t 00:12 t h e MCC TLM 18 l o s t t r a c k and b o t h
c a p s u l e t e l e m e t r y l i n k s and b o o s t e r t e l e m e t r y dropped t o less
t h a n 1 m i c r o v o l t f o r about 0 . 6 seconds. The Telemetry S u p e r v i s o r
immediately s w i t c h e d t o TEL-2 d a t a , b u t was unable t o a v o i d a
miscount on t h e decsmmutator which caused a l l t h e c o n t r o l r e l a y s
on t h e Mission Event Sequence Panel (MESP) t o l a t c h up. The
panel w a s reset and c o r r e c t i n d i c a t i o n o b t a i n e d . TWQ f u r t h e r
miscounts were o b t a i n e d , a t 02:19 and 02:35, w i t h t h e same
r e s u l t a s above.
The problem of an erroneous d i s p l a y r e s u l t i n g from a m i s -
ce-d~te~ + h a rulvn un rwr m
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have been taken t o i n c o r p o r a t e a n automatic s i g n a l l e v e l sen-

s i n g d e v i c e t o e l i m i n a t e a miscount from g i v i n g a n i n c o r r e c t
i n d i c a t i o n on t h e MESP, and t o t h e Goddard computers. A t 02:18
t h e s o u r c e of d a t a was switched from TEL-2 t o GBP u n t i l 0 3 ~ 1 3 ,
r e t u r n e d t o MCC d a t a s o u r c e a t 0 3 ~ 1 3u n t i l 07:23, t h e n t o GBI
u n t i l l o s s of s i g n a l a t 10:23, i n o r d e r to d i s p l a y t h e b e s t
s i g n a l a v a i l a b l e . The h e a r t r a t e and r e s p i r a t i o n r a t e d e r i v e d
from t e l e m e t e r e d EKG and r e s p i r a t i o n gave erroneous r e a d i n g s
throughout t h e f l i g h t . However, t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n was d e r i v e d
w i t h some t i m e delay from t h e s t r i p c h a r t s and a u d i o s i g n a l .
T h i s problem is being i n v e s t i g a t e d and s t e p s w i l l be t a k e n t o
improve t h i s d i s p l a y .
9.3 Communications
I n t e ~ o o m m u n i c a t i o n sw i t h i n t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r , and a l l
communications w i t h t h e blockhouse, t h e medical f a c i l i t i e s
a t t h e Cape, G B I , and t h e Goddard f a c i l i t i e s were e x c e l l e n t
d u r i n g t h e mission. During t h e countdown, a l i n e t o Goddard
became noisy which n e c e s s i t a t e d s w i t c h i n g t o a n a l t e r n a t e l i n k .
Communication between t h e MCC and Recovery Task Force was good
a t a l l times. During t h e post recovery phase a l a c k of adequate
u p d a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n e x i s t e d between t h e MCC and p e r s o n n e l i n
t h e recovery area.

61
 9.3 Communications (Cont ' d )

UHF r e c e p t i o n a t TEL-2 w a s good throughout t h e m i s s i o n and

w a s used f o r t h e A i r t o Ground v o i c e l i n k by t h e MCC. A problem
w i t h UHF r e c e p t i o n by t h e MCC TLM-18 a n t e n n a w a s d e t e c t e d p r i o r
t o l i f t o f f . A r e a d a b l e s i g n a l c o u l d be o b t a i n e d by s l e w i n g t h e
a TLM-18 a n t e n n a t o g i v e o f f - a x i s s i g n a l r e c e p t i o n . Because of
t h e narrow beamwidth, such a c t i o n w a s l i m i t e d s i n c e it d e t e r i o -
r a t e d t h e t e l e m e t r y r e c e p t i o n . T h i s r e s u l t e d i n t h e UHF
communication r e c e i v e d by the MCC TLM-18 b e i n g u n r e a d a b l e u h t i l
01:30. A f t e r t h i s t i m e , UHF r e c e p t i o n w a s good u n t i l l o s s of -
s i g n a l . The s i g n a l a t GBI was unreadable a t a l l times d u r i n g
t h e f l i g h t e x c e p t f o r a 20-second p e r i o d between 02:30 and
02:m.

9.4 Computer O p e r a t i o n and Trajectory D i s p l a y s

Launch computing subskstem checkout on X-1 day and on
launch day p r i o r t o T-0 i n d i c a t e d correct f u n c t i o n i n g of a l l
equipment. During t h e s e t e s t s b o t h computers a t Goddard were
u t i l i z e d , with f r e q u e n t s w i t c h i n g of d a t a o u t p u t from "A': t o
'fBc' computer. A t a l l 3 i m e s t h e t r a n s i t i o n w a s smooth and
s a t i s f a c t o r y . During launch a l l computing equipment and d i s -
plays functioned s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . Both computers a t Goddard
were i n o p e r a t i o n . The need t o s w i t c h o u t p u t d i d n o t a r i s e ,
t h e r e f o r e t h e 'tAY computer was used throughout t h e mission.
The l o s s of AZUSA d a t a and subsequent s w i t c h i n g t o Cape FPS-16
j u s t p r i o r t o a b o r t gave e r r a t i c d i s p l a y s a t t h i s t i m e . This
problem is b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n a smooth t r a n -
s i t i o n when d a t a sources are s w i t c h e d . Changes i n t h e computer
program w i l l be made i n an attempt t o minimize t h e need f o r
manual o v e r r i d e s i g n a l s t o t h e computer. Because of t h e excep-
t i o n a l overspeed c o n d i t i o n s a t k a i n e d , t h e m a x i m u m s c a l i n g f a c -
t o r s i n t h e computer program +ere exceeded. These had been
provided t o correspond w i t h m a x i m u m p l o t b o a r d t r a v e r s e . A
computer program change w i l l be made t o h s u r e d i g i t a l t r a j e c t o r y
d i s p l a y s on t h e F l i g h t Dynamics O f f i c e r ' s c o n s o l e are n o t
l i m i t e d by p l o t b o a r d t r a v e r s e c a p a b i l i t y . Change of p l o t b o a r d
s c a l e w i l l a l s o be c o n s i d e r e d as a p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n .
9.5 Mercury Network P a r t i c i p a t i o n
Advantage w a s t a k e n of t h e o p p o r t u n i t y provided by t h e
. MR-2 f l i g h t t o e x e r c i s e , i n a p a s s i v e manner, t h e f a c i l i t i e s
of t h e Bermuda S t a t i o n , t h e s t a t i o n a t Grand Turk, and one of
t h e s h i p s t a t i o n s berthed i n J a c k s o n v i l l e harbor.
 9.3 Mercury Network P a r t i c i p a t i o n (Cont' d)
Bermuda a c q u i s i t i o n a i d locked on a u t o m a t i c a l l y , e n a b l i n g
t e l e m e t r y , 9-band and C-band.radar data, and UHF v o i c e t o be
recorded. F i g u r e 9.5-1 shows azimuth, s l a n t r a n g e and e l e v a t i o n
. a n g l e of t h e trajectory from Bermuda. T i m e s of a c q u i s i t i o n
are i n d i c a t e d on t h e f i g u r e , T h i s is beyond t h e e x p e c t e d per-
formance of these s y s t e m s . The data r e c e i v e d w a s c o n s i d e r e d
good f o r t h i s range. The s h i p i n J a c k s o n v i l l e a l s o a c q u i r e d
a u t o m a t i c a l l y ; t e l e m e t r y and UHF v o i c e w a s r e c e i v e d . D a t a
was r e c e i v e d by t h e Grand Turk S t a t i o n , t h e q u a l i t y of which
is unknown a t t h i s t i m e . T h e s e e v e n t s are c o n s i d e r e d encou-
r a g i n g , and s u g g e s t t h a t t h e problem of a c u i s i t i o n by Bermuda,
so e s s e n t i a i i n an A t i a s mission, may not prove t o be as
f o r m i d a b l e as had been o r i g i n a l l y conceived.

63
. .
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 10.0 RECOVERY
* 1 0 . 1 Recovery Plan
Recovery f o r c e s were p r e p o s i t i o n e d i n t h e planned l a n d i n g
areas as shown i n F i g u r e 10.1-1. The f i v e a i r b o r n e a i r c r a f t
. on S t a t i o n s 1 through S t a t i o n 5 provided t h e primary c a p a b i l i t y
f o r l o c a t i n g t h e c a p s u l e through t h e u s e of e l e c t r o n i c d i r e c t i o n
f i n d i q g equipment. In t h e p r i m a r y and secondary l a n d i n g areas,
t h e d e s t r o y e r s i n Q o s i t i o n s DD1 through DD6, and h e l i c o p t e r s
- from t h e LSD had t h e c a p q b i l i t y of r e t r i e v i n g t h e c a p a u f e . In
t h e e v e n t of a l a n d i n g i n t h e launch s i t e recovery a r e a , ' h e l i -
. c o p t e r s o p e r a t i n g from-Cape Canaveral provided t h e primary
mgans of c a p s u l e retrXGua1. Three l a n d convoys provided a
L-elr**-
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~ V W Aof 2 land l a n d i n g in the Cape Canaverai area.
~

%?&e. LARC v e h i c l e i n each land convoy had, amphibious andLrough

t e r r a i n maneuvering c a p a b i l i t y t o retrb'eve Che c a w u l e . The
ARS v e s s e l and two T-boats provided altaackup i n t h e W e p t of 8
water landingLlaxid had t h e c a p a b i l i t y a f r e t r i e v i h g t h e c a p s u l e
from t h e o f f s h o r e p o r t i o n of t h e 1 a u n o h : s i t e l a n d i n g area.
The Recovery Task FarcelCommander was l o c a t e d in t h e
Merc?wy .Control Center and the primary means of communicating
w i t h t h e , r e c o v e r y f o r c e s was by v o i c e r a d i o . The downrange
Recovery Area Cammander was on b o a r 4 t h e d e s t r o y e r i n S t a t i o n 5 .
The kw,qcbh s i t e Recovery Area Commander w a s l o c a t e d i'a a h e l i -
' c o p t e r @ r k o r n e ,%B t h e v i c i n i t y of Cape Canaveral

65
ff6
 10.2 Recovery Operations
A t t h e t i m e of launch t h e p r e d i c t e d l a n d i n g p o i n t based
upon wind i n f o r m a t i o n t a k e n a t approximately -6 hours w a s
about e i g h t m i l e s downrange of t h e nominal no wind l a n d i n g
p o s i t i o n (see F i g u r e 1 0 , l - l ) o The three downrange s h i p s ad-
j u s t e d t h e i r prelaunch p o s i t i o n about s i x m i l e s t o t h e east t o
account f o r t h e p r e d i c t e d wind e f f e c t s . Launch s i t e recovery
f o r c e s were p o s i t i o n e d t o cover t h e p r e d i c t e d l a n d i n g c o r r i d o r
(based on measured winds) which s t a r t e d about 2 , 6 0 0 f e e t s o u t h -
w e s t of t h e launch pad and passed across t h e beach t o seaward
about 3,500 f e e t s o u t h of t h e launch pad.
Adequate countdown informaxion w a s r e c e i v e d by t h e down-
r a n g e recovery f o r c e s and t h e y were a b l e t o a d j u s t t o a l l h o l d s
i n a s a t i s f a c t o r y manner. A t 3 minutes t h e recovery f o r c e s
were informed of t h e t i m e of l i f t - o f f and a t 11 minutes t h e y
were alerted t o a p o s s i b l e o v e r f l i g h t of t h e planned l a n d i n g
area. A t 17 minutes t h e i n i t i a l c a l c u l a t e d l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n
and s e a r c h area w a s e s t a b l i s h e d a t 26O21'N, 74"lO'W based on
IP-709 computer r e s u l t s . A t approximately 12 minutes down-
range a i r c r a f t r e c e i v e d UHF-DF s i g n a l s from t h e recovery beacon
apjiarently w h i l e t h e c a p s u l e w a s descending on t h e main para-
c h u t e . A f t e r h o l d i n g t h e s i g n a l for from two t o three minutes
and o b t a i n i n g good i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and b e a r i n g s , t h e s i g n a l w a s
l o s t by a l l a i r c r a f t . This l o s s of s i g n a l could have been
caused by any one or a l l of t h e f o l l o w i n g f a c t o r s : Capsule
descending below l i n e of s i g h t , change i n s i g n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
as c a p s u l e approached water, o r l o s s i n t r a n s m i s s i o n immediately
a f t e r l a n d i n g when, based o n r e s u l t s from p r e v i o u s l a n d i n g
dynamics tests i t c a n be expected t h a t t h e t o p of t h e c a p s u l e
w i l l be t e m p o r a r i l y immersed under water. With t h e h e l p of
t h e e s t a b l i s h e d search a r e a , t h e a i r c r a f t were q u i c k l y a b l e t o
o r i e n t t h e i r s e a r c h downrange, - e s t a b l i s h UHF-DF contact, and
home i n on t h e c a p s u l e . The a i r c r a f t from S t a t i o n 3 r e p o r t e d
v i s u a l s i g h t i n g and on t o p a t 44 minutes. Other a i r c r a f t
a r r i v e d on t h e s c e n e s h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r . D e s t r o y e r s from
S t a t i o n s 5 and 6 and t h e LSD proceeded toward t h e l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n
a t b e s t speed. V i s u a l s u r v e i l l a n c e of t h e c a p s u l e while r e t r i e v a l
f o r c e s were on t h e way i n d i c a t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n d i t i o n s :
Time Prom Launch Flotation Attitude
. 45 min t o 1 hour, 26 n i n Upright and normal
1 hour 26 min Appeared t o be l i s t i n g
1 hour 51 min L i s t r a n g l e e s t i m a t e d a t 40°
from v e r t i c a l
2 hours 6 min L i s t a n g l e e s t i m a t e d a t 80°
from v e r t i c a l
67
7
 10.2 Becovery O p e r a t i o n s (Cont ' d)
A photograph of t h e c a p s u l e taken from an a i r c r a f t d u r i n g
t h e f i r s t t i m e p e r i o d is shown as F i g u r e 10.2-1, and d u r i n g
t h e l a s t t i m e p e r i o d as Figure 10.2-2.
H e l i c o p t e r s were launched t o a r r i v e a t t h e l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n
as e a r l y as p r a c t i c a b l e , s h i p s c o n t i n u e d t o c l o s e a t m a x i m u m
speed and t h e f i r s t u n i t on s c e n e w a s d i r e c t e d t o r e t r i e v e .
A t 2 hours 56 minutes, t h e c a p s u l e w a s r e t r i e v e d from t h e water
by h e l i c o p t e r and p l a c e d on t h e LSD at 3 hours 47 minutes
( F i g u r e 10.2-3).

68
 1

F i g u r e 10.2-1.- Capsule - Soon a f t e r l a n d i n g .

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F i g u r e 10.2-3,- Capsule being placed on LSD, Donner.

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 10.2.1 R e t r i e v a l Observations

The h e l i c o p t e r s and a l s o t h e d e s t r o y e r a r r i v i n g
on s c e n e observed t h e l i s t angle So have i n c r e a s e d t o about
90° s h o r t l y b e f o r e pickup was made. The open end of t h e c y l i n -
d r i c a l p a r t of t h e c a p s u l e was mostly submerged w i t h t h e t o p of
t h e unsubmerged p o r t i o n a n e s t i m a t e d 5 t o 8 i n c h e s o u t of t h e
water. Upon a r r i v a l on t h e c a p s u l e scene t h e d e s t r o y e r measured
t h e following conditions:
Wave h e i g h t 3 to 4 feet
Wind 20 k n o t s (and d i m i n i s h i n g )
Uprrn pickuy? bjr t h e helizsptelr. o b s e r v e r s aboard
t h e d e s t r o y e r (which w a s 150 y a r d s away) r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e
heat s h i e l d w a s missing. The pickup h e l i c o p t e r p i l o t r e p o r t e d
t h a t what he thought to be a l a r g e p o r t i o n of t h e l a n d i n g s k i r t
w a s t o r n s o t h a t i t w a s hanging down and t h a t t h i s l a r g e p i e c e
t o r e completely away s h o r t l y a f t e r l i f t o f f ,.
The h e l i c o p t e r p i l o t had t o d i p h i s recovery hook
b e n e a t h t h e water s u r f a c e t o engage t h e nylon l i f t i n g l o o p ,
however, hookup w a s made w i t h i n l t w s minutes. The h e l i c o p t e r
p i l o t r e p o r t e d t h a t n o t h i n g unusual w a s n o t i c e d c o n c e r n i n g h i s
f e e l of t h e h e l i c o p t e r ' s response w h i l e t h e c a p s u l e w a s b e i n g
l i f t e d o u t of t h e water. Pieces of t h e s k i r t were observed t o
tear away p e r i o d i c a l l y during t h e r e t u r n f l i g h t .
Upon r e t u r n t o t h e LSD an e x c e l l e n t c a p s u l e l a n d i n g
w a s e f f e c t e d on t h e r e c e i v i n g p a l l e t and t h e r i g w a s immediately
p u l l e d forward t o a l l o w c a p s u l e i n s p e c t i o n and animal removal.
Except f o r t h e f a c t t h a t t h e impact s k i r t w a s t o r n away a few
i n c h e s below t h e c a p s u l e , no c a p b u l e damage w a s a p p a r e n t . The
h a t c h w a s removed w i t h i n one minute and t h e animal w a s heard
making n o i s e s i n d i c a t i v e of h i s being very d c h a l i v e . The
c a p s u l e w a s observed t o c o n t a i n a c o n s i d e r a b l e m o u n t of water
and t h e water l e v e l w a s e s t i m a t e d at being about f o u r i n c h e s
below t h e lower edge of t h e hatch opening, The couch f i t t i n g s
were e n e a t h t h e water in t h e c a p s u l e and a l t h o u g h t h i s hampered
removal somewhat, t h e couch was removed i n about 25 minutes.
The water was t h e n pumped out of t h e c a p s u l e , t h e i n s t r u m e n t
p a n e l camera w a s removed, t h e h a t c h w a s r e p l a c e d , and t h e c a p s u l e
e x t e r i o r w a s f l u s h e d thoroughly w i t h f r e s h water.
The LSD proceeded t o a p o s i t i o n a b o u t 12 m i l e s
s o u t h of t h e Grand Bahama Auxiliary A i s Force B a s e where t h e
a n i m a l w a s t r a n s f e r r e d by h e l i c o p t e r t o t h e GBI Medical F a c i l i t y
a t approximately 0745 EST t h e f o l l o w i n g day. The LSD t h e n pro-
ceeded t o a p o s i t i o n about 1 0 m i l e s s o u t h e a s t of Cape Canaveral
and t h e c a p s u l e w a s t r a n s f e r r e d by h e l i c o p t e r a t 1700 EST t o a
 10.2.1 R e t r i e v a l O b s e r v a t i o n s (Cont ' d)
l o c a t i o n n e a r t h e Cape Canaveral Skid S t r i p . F u r t h e r t r a n s p o r t
t o Hangar S w a s accomplished by a LARC v e h i c l e .
10.2.2 Performance of Recovery Aids
The recovery a i d s performed as i n t e n d e d .
While t h e c a p s u l e w a s descending on main c h u t e , UHF-DF cont'act
w a s made by SARAH equipped a i r c r a f t in S t a t i o n s 2 and 3 a t
r a n g e s of about 97 and 135 n a u t i c a l m i l e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . A f t e r
c a p s u l e l a n d i n g , UHF-DF c o n t a c t w a s r e - e s t a b l i s h e d on t h e SARAH
beacon as t h e a i r c r a f t c l o s e d on t h e s e a r c h area a t r a n g e s of
fro^ 50 tc 20 miles degendii;g aa aircraft a l t i t u d e and airborne
r e c e i v e r equipment a& W-2 a i r c r a f t w a s l o c a t e d approximately
e

50 n a u t i c a l m i l e s s o u t h e a s t of t h e planned l a n d i n g area ( F i g u r e
10.1-1) i n o r d e r t o e v a l u a t e UHF-DP r e c e i v e r equipment compatible
w i t h b o t h p u l s e d and CW t r a n s m i s s i o n s . This a i r c r a f t r e c e i v e d
DF i n f o r m a t i o n from t h e UHF v o i c e t r a n s m i s s i o n s d u r i n g c a p s u l e
f l i g h t , and from both t h e p u l s e d and CW t r a n s m i s s i o n s when t h e
recovery beacons were i n t h e recovery mode as t h e WV-2.flew
toward t h e l a n d i n g area.
D e s t r o y e r s i n S t a t i o n s 2 , 5 , and 6 r e c e i v e d
r e a d a b l e UHF c a p s u l e v o i c e t r a n s m i s s i o n s d u r i n g f l i g h t .
Accurate r a d a r c h a f f r e p o r t s were r e c e i v e d
from AMR radar l o c a t e d a t San Salvador.
The dye marker w a s s t r e a m i n g and v i s i b l e t o
t h e recovery f o r c e s i n t h e l a n d i n g area u n t i l c a p s u l e r e t r i e v a l .
In a d d i t i o n , smoke w a s dropped by l o c a t i o n a i r c r a f t as a visual.
aid.
The f l a s h i n g l i g h t o p e r a t e d and c o n t i n u e d t o
f u n c t i o n u n t i l a f t e r t h e c a p s u l e w a s d e l i v e r e d t o t h e recovery
ship.
A S o f a r r e p o r t w a s r e c e i v e d a t 1 hour 20
minutes and confirmed t h e IP 709 l a n d i n g p o i n t ( F i g u r e 10.1-1).

73
 11.0 CAPSULE POSTFLIGHT INSPECTION
The p o s t f l i g h t v i s u a l i n s p e c t i o n of c a p s u l e no. 5 re-
v e a l e d t h a t t h e c a p s u l e w a s g e n e r a l l y i n good c o n d i t i o n , w i t h
t h e f o l l o w i n g major e x c e p t i o n s :
1. The h e a t s i n k w a s m i s s i n g , as w a s most of t h e f i b e r -
g l a s s impact s k i r t , which was t o r n a l l t h e way around. A l l
of t h e s t a i n l e s s steel s t r a p s w e r e broken itt B proximately
attachment. T h i s c a n be s e e n i n F i g u r e 11.0-1.
P
t h e same s e c t i o n , i . e . , n e a r t h e lower spot-we cl a t t h e upper
The f i b e r -
g l a s s s h i e l d benea,th t h e l a r g e p r e s s u r e bulkhead w a s p i e r c e d
by f i v e deep c u t s (Fig. 11.0-2), which corresponded i n s p a c i n g
t o t h e p o s i t i o n s of the heat s h i e l d s t u d s .
2. The l a r g e p r e s s u r e bulkhead w a s punctured (Fig. 11.0-3)
by t w o of t h e b o l t s on t h e t e r m i n a l block immediately above t h e
damaged area on t h e f i b e r g l a s s s h i e l d . The larger of these h o l e s
w a s approximately 0.16 i n c h i n d i a m e t e r .
F i g u r e 11.0-1,- Photograph showing broken r e t e n t i o n
s t r a p s and t o r n impact l a n d i n g s k i r t .
F I G U R E 11.0-2 V I E W OF CUTS I N F I B E R G L A S S S H I E L D
BENEATH LARGE PREESURE BULKHEAD
11.1 S t r u c t u r e

1. The 537 u m b i l i c a l d i s c o n n e c t w a s s t i l l a t t a c h e d t o
t h e c a p s u l e . Both e x p l o s i v e c e l l s had f i r e d , b u t a s h e a r p i n
s t i l l h e l d , and t h e l o c k r i n g w a s s t i l l i n p l a c e . The p l u g
w a s wedged i n its Socket a t an a n g l e . The exposed w i r i n g and
s o c k e t were badly burned, as c a n be s e e n i n F i g u r e 11.1-1.
2. There w a s . no evidence of e x c e s s heat n e a r t h e RCS
t h r u s t e r s as had o c c u r r e d in MR-1A. One of t h e aluminum f e e d
p i p e s t o t h e r i g h t yaw t h r u s t e r s c o r r o d e d through a f t e r t h e
p o s t f l i g h t i n s p e c t i o n began, l e a v i n g a h o l e approximately 1/8
i n c h diameter i n t h e w a l l of t h e t u b e .
3. The escape rocket b l a s t eroded t h e p h e n o l i c a d a p t e r i
a t t a c h m e n t r i n g at t h e base of t h e c a p s u l e . The l e f t - h a n d
window which was. a l i g n e d with t h e r o c k e t n o z z l e had been
p a i n t e d f o r t h i s m i s s i o n , but almost a l l of t h e p a i n t had been
a b l a t e d a w a y , and i t s o u t e r s u r f a c e w a s badly s c o u r e d and w a s
opaqve. The right-hand window which w a s a l i g n e d between r o c k e t
nozzles w a s e s s c e p t i a l l y c l b a r .
4. The recovekp compartment c o n t a i n e d s o o t y d e p o s i t s i n
areas near t h e cut-out9 f o r t h e capsule-to-tower d i s c o n n e c t s ,
which appeared t o come from t h e e s c a p e r o c k e t , Smoke was seen
doming from t h e recovery compartment f o r a s h o r t time w h i l e t h e
c a p s u l e WAS suspended by t h e LARC, and as i t w a s b e i n g r o t a t e d
a b o u t its 2 axis. The s o u r c e of t h i s f i r e h a s n o t y e t been
determined, b u t is b e l i e v e d t o be i n t h e area of t h e f l a s h i n g
beacon l i g h t .
5 . The c r u s h a b l e couch s u p p o r t b l o c k s were damaged,
( F i g . 11.1-2). T h i s w a s a p p a r e n t l y caused by t h e b l o c k s r o l l i n g
o v e r o n t o t h e bulkhead s t i f f e n e r e i t h e r on i n s t a l l a t i o n o r re-
moyal of t h e couch. These blocks are n o t a t t a c h e d t o t h e c a p s u l e
s t r u c t u r e and it is b e l i e v e d t h a t t h i s damage d i d n o t r e s u l t from
the f l i g h t test.

78
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 11.2 Capsule I n t e r i o r
1. When t h e c a p s u l e was r e t u r n e d t o t h e hangar, i t
c o n t a i n e d approximately f i v e g a l l o n s of water. C o n s i d e r a b l e
s a l t water c o r r o s i o n w a s found. The recovery f o r c e s had re-
p o r t e d t h a t t h e c a p s u l e contained 18 i n c h e s of water when
. it w a s u p r i g h t onboard s h i p , T h i s c o r r e s p o n d s t o a b o u t 800
pounds of water.
2. Switch p o s i t i o n s were as f o l l o w s :

SdtUh P o s i ti o n
Squib Off
ASCS Power Off
Gyro Normal
Ammeter Off
Batteries R/H On
Batteries L/H Off
Cabin f a n Off
Cabin l i g h t s Off
Launch c o n t r o l Off
Standby I n v e r t e r ASCS
Audio Buss Emergency
UHF S e l e c t Reserve
UHF/DF R/T
Standby B a t t e r y Manual
Transmit UHF
I s o l a t e d Battery Normal
R a t e Indicator Manual On
Beacon Continuous
R e t r oj e t t i s o n Arm
ASCS Mode S e l e c t Normal
Landing Bag Auto
Retroheater Off
3. I n d i c a t o r r e a d i n g s were as f o l l o w s :
Indicator Reading

Cabin Temperature 770

A t t i t u d e Ind:
Pitch 80°
Yaw 2400
Roll 900
Accelerometer +14.5 g
-0.4 g
I n t e r i m Glock 978 s a . from launch
Coolant Quantity 15 p e r c e n t
 11.2 Capsule I n t e r i o r (Cont'd)
Indicator Reading

Auto Fuel water 30 p e r c e n t re-

in maining
e
Manual Fuel gauge 10 p e r c e n t re-
maining
( t a n k s were empty of H202)

4. C o n t r o l p o s i t i o n s were as f o l l o w s :
Control P o s i ti o n

S u i t Temperature F u l l CCW
Cabin Temperature F u l l CCW
Emergency 02 R a t e UP
5. Valve p o s i t i o n s were as f o l l o w s :
Valve Condition
Inflow Snorkel Tripped
Outflow Snorkel Tripped
S u i t Hoses Interconnected

6 . The p e r i s c o p e w a s i n t h e extended p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e
door locked open. T h i s is a normal c o n d i t i o n .
 12.0 AMR SUPPORT, DATA COVERAGE, AND FILM REVIEW

12.1 AMR Support and Data Coverage

A l l A t l a n t i c Missile Range (AMR) i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n committed
t o s u p p o r t t h e MR-2 mission was manned and o p e r a t i o n a l . T h i s
. i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n gave r e q u i r e d coverage of t h e f l i g h t and r e s u l t e d
i n good o p e r a t i o n a l s u p p o r t and d a t a coverage. The b e s t i n f o r -
mation a v a i l a b l e a t t h e t i m e of t h i s w r i t i n g r e g a r d i n g instrumen-
t a t i o n s t a t u s and d a t a coverage i s p r e s e n t e d below:
OPTICS

TYPE STATION
Metric 1 (Canaveral ) 24 24
Engineering 1 (Canav er a1) 38 38
Sequential
Engineering 3 2 2
Sequential
Documentary 1 (Canave r a 1) 23 23

RADAR

A l l r a d a r s a c q u i r e d s i g n a l and t r a c k e d w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of
r a d a r 3a.16 (MPS-25) l o c a t e d a t Carter Cay. T h i s r a d a r w a s committed
t o s k i n t r a c k and w a s a s s i g n e d t o t h i s t e s t on an e n g i n e e r i n g t r i a l
b a s i s o n l y . Combined r a d a r track f o r t h e t e s t w a s o b t a i n e d t o
approximately 13:24. Radar r e d u c t i o n p e r s o n n e l have i n d i c a t e d ,
however, t h a t d a t a recorded on t h e magnetic t a p e of t h e San Salvador
FPS-16 (5.16) is n o t of good q u a l i t y and may n o t p r o v i d e u s a b l e
trajectory data.
TELEMETRY
E x c e l l e n t t e l e m e t r y coverage w a s o b t a i n e d from l i f t - o f f t o
l a n d i n g . A combination of t h e Cape TLM-18 a n t e n n a and t h e GBI
a n t e n n a s f e e d i n g t h e s u b c a b l e , provided real t i m e t e l e m e t r y t o
10:20. T e r m i n a l t e l e m e t r y coverage was provided by a t e l e m e t r y
a i r c r a f t in t h e l a n d i n g area. T h i s a i r c r a f t recorded good q u a l i t y
d a t a t o l a n d i n g a t 16:39 w i t h adequate o v e r l a p of t h e Cape-GBI
d a t a . Information r e l a t i v e t o t e l e m e t r y r e c e p t i o n by t h e t e l e m e t r y
s h i p in t h e l a n d i n g a r e a ' i s n o t a v a i l a b l e a t t h i s w r i t i n g .

83
12.1 AMR Support and Data Coverage (Cont'd)

AZUSA
The AZUSA o p e r a t o r ' s r e p o r t i n d i c a t e d t h a t good s i g n a l
w a s o b t a i n e d from.00:25 t o 02:03 a t which t i m e a dropout o c c u r r e d .
I n t e r m i t t e n t s i g n a l w a s then r e c e i v e d from 02:48 t o 06:OO.

RANGE SAFETY

No Range S a f e t y commands were t r a n s m i t t e d d u r i n g t h i s

t e s t . A " S t a r t R e t r o f i r e " comhand was a c t i v a t e d a t t h e Mercury
C o n t r o l Center and w a s t r a n s m i t t e d by t h e FRW-2 t r a n s m i t t e r a t
A A -
U%t;%l.
A 1

12.2 Film Review

12.2.1 Engineering S e q u e n t i a l
Photographic coverage w a s good, and a l l cameras
r e q u e s t e d were u t i l i z e d . Although a l l cameras o p e r a t e d , some
were f a c i n g t h e sun and y i e l d e d poor q u a l i t y f i l m due t o over-
exposure. Four i t e m s were 16mm f i l m s which showed c a p s u l e um-
b i l i c a l e j e c t i o n and door c l o s u r e , engine i g n i t i o n , and l i f t - o f f
t o be normal. A 35mm camera on t h e Cape t r a c k e d a l l t h e way t o
a b o r t and a few seconds t h e r e a f t e r . The IGOR a t P a t r i c k , u s i n g
b l a c k and w h i t e f i l m , t r a c k e d through a b o r t and followed t h e
b o o s t e r f o r a few seconds t h e r e a f t e r .
12.2.2 Onboard Film
The t h r e e onboard camera f i l m s were processed
and were of s a t i s f a c t o r y q u a l i t y . The m a j o r i t y of t h e f i l m
w i l l produce v a l u a b l e information r e l a t i v e t o t h e behavior of
t h e chimpanzee, t h e instrument r e a d i n g s , c a p s u l e o r i e n t a t i o n
r e l a t i v e t o t h e e a r t h , and appearance of t h e e a r t h .
 -

13.0 CONCLUSIONS
A p r e l i m i n a r y e v a l u a t i o n of d a t a and c i r c u m s t a n c e s con-
c e r n i n g t h e MR-2 f l i g h t test i n d i c a t e s t h e f o l l o w i n g :
1. Booster p r o p e l l a n t consumption was h i g h e r t h a n normal,
c a u s i n g a c a p s u l e a b o r t a s a r e s u l t of p r o p e l l a n t d e p l e t i o n
b e f o r e a b o r t s y s t e m d i s a r m i n g . Also, t h e a s s o c i a t e d h i g h
v e l o c i t y caused an overshoot of t h e planned l a n d i n g p o i n t .
2. E a r l y i n t h e f l i g h t , t h e i n f l o w s n o r k e l v a l v e opened
prematurely p r e c l u d i n g t h e q u a l i f i c a t i o n of t h e environlnental
c o n t r o l s y s t e m i n its primary mode. The s u i t c i r c u i t of t h i s
s y s t e m f u n c t i o n e d p r o p e r l y i n an emergency anode, however.
3. Following t h e c a p s u l e a b o r t , a l l other c a p s u l e s y s t e m s ,
w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of t h e impact bag, o p e r a t e d a s designed f o r
an a b o r t .
4. Because of a series of compounding problems, i n c l u d i n g
momentary l o s s of t e l e m e t r y s i g n a l a t a b o r t and p r o c e d u r a l
problems, t h e e x a c t sequence of e v e n t s a t t h e t i m e of a b o r t was
not known i n t h e Mercury Control Center u n t i l about one minute
after the automatic a b o r t .
5. A t l a n d i n g , t h e h e a t s i n k s t r u c k t h e lower p a r t of t h e
c a p s u l e and punctured t h e main p r e s s u r e bulkhead. After landing,
t h e h e a t s i n k s e p a r a t e d from t h e c a p s u l e and sank. The c a p s u l e
w a s recovered i n a p a r t i a l l y submerged c o n d i t i o n . A l a r g e amount
of water had e n t e r e d t h e c a p s u l e .
6. Recovery o p e r a t i o n s were s a t i s f a c t o r y .
7 . Post recovery information flow to t h e C o n t r o l Center
w a s n o t adequate.
8. The primate occupant of t h e c a p s u l e e x p e r i e n c e d
b a l l i s t i c s p a c e f l i g h t w i t h no a p p a r e n t ill e f f e c t s , c o n t i n u -
o u s l y performing h i s given t a s k , i n s p i t e of h i g h a c c e l e r a t i o n s
a t a b o r t and d u r i n g r e - e n t r y .
9. DOD s u p p o r t was good i n a l l r e s p e c t s .

85
 14.0 APPENDIX
14.1 Capsule T e l e m e t r y I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n

COMMUTATED MEASUREMENTS
MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT RANGE
3 V o l t DC Reference 3v
0 Reference (ground)
7 V o l t AC Reference 7v
Body Temperature (Primate ) 95-108'F
V i b r a t i o n (A Link) 10-2000 c p s
Noise (B Link) 120-135 db
S u i t Pressure 0-25 p s i a
Cabin A i r Temperature 0-200°F
S u i t I n l e t A i r Temperature 40-110°F
Y-axis A c c e l e r a t i o n
X-axis A c c e l e r a t i o n
Z-axis A c c e l e r a t i o n
Pitch Attitude
R o l l Attitude -130° t o -;1800
Yaw A t t i t u d e -700 t o 2400
H e a t S h i e l d Temperature -
Edge (A Link) -looo t o 600°F
H e a t S h i e l d Temperature -
Center (B
Link - open) -looo t o 500°F
Outer Skin Temperature -
(B Link fwd) 00 t o 900°F
(A Link aft-open)
I n n e r Skin Temperature (B Link) -10 t o +320°F
Main 250VA I n v e r t e r Temperature
(A Link) -20 t o 360°F
S t a t i c Pressure 0-15 p s i a
T o t a l Animal Response, Left-Hand On-Of f
T o t a l Animal Response, Righf-Hand On-Of f
Shock Occurrence On-Of f
I n t e r i m Clock (Units) 0-10 sec
I n t e r i m Clock (Tens) 0-100 sec
I n t e r i m Clock (Hundreds) 0-1000 sec
I n t e r i m Clock (Thousands) 0-10,000 sec
Time of Retro On-Of f
Nitrogen High P r e s s u r e -
Automatic 0-2400 p s i a
Nitrogen High P r e s s u r e -
Manual 0-2400 p s i a
70-140 VAC
AC Voltage Monitor (Fans Bus)
DC C u r r e n t Monitor 0-35 amps
Tower S e p a r a t i o n On-Of f

86
 14.0 APPENDIX (Cont' d)
MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT RANGE
Capsule S e p a r a t i o n On-Of f
R e t r o A t t i t u d e Camand On-Of f
R e t r o r o c k e t No. 1 F i r e On-Of f
R e t r o r o c k e t No.2 F i r e On-Of f
Retrorocket No. 3 F i r e On-Of f
R e t r o r o c k e t Assy J e t t i s o n On-Of f
Drogue Chute Deploy On-Of f
Antenna F a i r i n g Release On-Of f
Main Chute Deploy On-Of f
]d.&in Chute Jettissii n- n*l)
UU'UJ. I
Reserve Chute Deploy On-Of f
Duration of Blue L i g h t ( C h m Psychomotor) On-Of f
Mayday On-Of f
Tower Escape Rocket F i r e On-Of f
Standby I n v e r t e r- ON On-Of f
Standby B a t t e r y - ON On-Of f
Calibrate Signal On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t ( P i t c h up) On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t ( P i t c h down) On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t ( P i t c h up) On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t ( P i t c h down) On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t (CW R o l l ) On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t (CCW R o l l ) On-Of f
P e r i s c o p e Retract S i g n a l On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t (CW R o l l ) On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t (CCW R o l l ) On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t (Yaw L e f t ) On-Of f
High P r e s s u r e J e t (Yaw Right) On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t (Yaw $,eft) On-Of f
Low P r e s s u r e J e t (Yaw Right) On-Of f
Cabin P r e s s u r e 0-25 p s i a
DC Voltage Monitor 0-30 v o l t s
Coolant Q u a n t i t y 0-500 p s i a
0.05g Relay A c t i v a t i o n . On-Off
Sync mise
CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENTS
R e s p i r a t i o n Rate and Depth
EKG
EKG

87
14.2 M o d i f i c a t i o n s t o Capsule I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n
Various m o d i f i c a t i o n s t o t h e c a p s u l e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n s y s t e m
were r e q u i r e d and were accomplished by t h e NASA Launch O p e r a t i o n s
U n i t t o a c h i e v e mission o b j e c t i v e s ; t o f a c i l i t a t e c a p s u l e t e s t i n g
d u r i n g g a n t r y o p e r a t i o n s ; and t o improve t h e s i g n a l q u a l i t y ,
r e l i a b i l i t y , and, i n some i n s t a n c e s , e l i m i n a t e a m b i g u i t i e s .
The c o n f i g u r a t i o n of t h e c a p s u l e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n a t launch w i l l
be d i s c u s s e d i n two groups; Biomedical and General.
14.2.1 Biomedical I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n
Considerable problems were encountered d u r i n g t h e
prelaunch t e s t i n g p e r i d . A= e l e c t r c n i c EKG simlll2tT)r was de-
s i g n e d , c o n s t r u c t e d , and used d u r i n g t h e gantry o p e r a t i o n s t o
check o u t t h e medical i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n a t t h e remote s i t e s .

EKG Amplifiers - The EKG a m p l i f i e r s r e c e i v e d w i t h

t h e c a p s u l e were n o t s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r f l i g h t . They were re-
d e s i g n e d by NASA Launch Operations and d e l i v e r e d e x c e l l e n t EKG
d a t a d u r i n g t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t . Output l e v e l s were g r e a t l y
d i f f e r e n t ( b u t r e a d a b l e ) from a m p l i f i e r t o a m p l i f i e r because
a d j u s t m e n t s c o u l d n o t be made on t h e g a n t r y w i t h t h e a c t u a l
s u b j e c t connected.
R e s p i r a t i o n Rate and Depth Transducer and Amplifier-
The r e s p i r a t i o n r a t e and depth t r a n s d u c e r and a m p l i f i e r d e l i v e r e d
f o r f l i g h t w e r n o t u s a b l e . These were r e d e s i g n e d by NASA Launch
O p e r a t i o n s and y i e l d e d e x c e l l e n t d a t a from launch t o s p l a s h .
Body Temperature Transducer - The t r a n s d u c e r w a s
c a l i b r a t e d during t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t .
Psychomotor T e s t e r -The psychomotor t e s t e r oper-
a t e d p r o p e r l y d u r i n g t h e prelaunch t e s t i n g p e r i o d and d u r i n g
t h e e n t i r e f l i g h t . Some m o d i f i c a t i o n s were made by MAC a t t h e
Cape t o b r i n g i t i n t o e l e c t r i c a l and v i b r a t i o n s p e c i ' f i c a t i o n s .
14.2.2 General System M o d i f i c a t i o n s
The mixer a m p l i f i e r was r e d e s i g n e d t o p r o v i d e i n -
creqped v o l t a g e l e v e l s of t h e m u l t i p l e x e d composite FM s i g n a l
t o t h e t a p e r e c o r d e r and t o p r o v i d e ' h a r d l i n e s i g n a l s t o t h e
blockhouse f o r c o n t i n u o a s s d a t a m o n i t o r i n g d u r i n g p e r i o d s of FU?
s i l e n c e . For s y s t e m checks a t remote s i t e s , t h e h a r d l i n e s i g -
n a l s were used t o modulate t w o a u x i l i a r y t r a n s m i t t e r s tuned t o
t h e c a p s u l e f r e q u e n c i e s b u t l o c a t e d i n t h e blockhouse. This
t e c h n i q u e proved t o be most s u c c e s s f u l a n d was i n s t r u m e n t a l i n
c o n s e r v i n g t h e l i f e of t h e c a p s u l e t r a n s m i t t e r s , which is
l i m i t e d t o 50 hours and h a s an unknown t o l e r a n c e f o r c a p s u l e
temperatures.
14.2.2 Geneml System Modifications (Cont'd)
The i n p u t c i r c u i t r y t o t h e 1 0 . 5 KC v o l t a g e c o n t r o l l e d
o s c i l l a t o r s was modified t o reduce t h e e f f e c t i v e o u t p u t v o l t a g e
from t h e onboard commutators. A v o l t a g e d i v i d e r w a s a d j u s t e d
t o c o n f i n e t h e s i g n i f i c a n t sidebands t o +6 p e r c e n t d e v i a t i o n ,
t h e r e b y a l l o w i n g a guard-band of 1 . 5 p e r c e n t d e v i a t i o n f o r
o s c i l l a t o r c e n t e r frequency d r i f t .
The supply v o l t a g e t o t h e three a c c e l e r o m e t e r s was
f i l t e r e d and r e g u l a t e d t o prevent n o i s e on t h e 24v DC bus from
a p p e a r i n g on t h e accelerometer o u t p u t s . S i n c e t h e o u t p u t i m -
pedance of t h e a c c e l e r o m e t e r s i s approximately 10,000 ohms, a
2 Microfarad condenser was connected a c r o s s each accelerometer
t o reduce t h e AC impedance, thereby r e d u c i n g t h e commutator
sampling e r r o r s which come from t a l k b a c k i n t o t h e a c c e l e r o m e t e r .
S a t i s f a c t o r y performance of t h e accelerometers was o b t a i n e d
during f l i g h t .
A d e s p i k i n g network was designed and i n s t a l l e d on each
of t h e programmer o u t p u t s t o t h e cameras, Lo p r o t e c t t h e pro-
grammer c o n t a c t s from l i n e t r a n s i e n t s .
A m i r r o r and b r a c k e t assembly was designed and i n -
s t a l l e d on t h e i n s t r u m e n t panel t o view t h e l e f t - h a n d p o r t h o l e
by means of t h e i n s t r u m e n t o b s e r v e r camera.
The r a d i a t i o n f i l m packs used were of a new d e s i g n .
These have been renoved and forwarded t o t h e Naval A i r S t a t i o n
a t Pensacola, Florida.
The i n n e r s k i n temperature pickup (Segment 21A) was
removed and i n s t a l l e d on t h e 250 VA main i n v e r t e r . The i n -
v e r t e r temperature was monitored c o n t i n u o u s l y d u r i n g t h e pre-
launch countdown. The i n v e r t e r temperature r o s e s t e a d i l y t o
1920F w i t h o u t any evidence of l e v e l i n g o f f , S i n c e t h e r e was
s t i l l c o n s i d e r a b l e t i m e remaining u n t i l T-b, t h e c o u n t was
r e c y c l e d t o T-120, t h e h a t c h was opened, and c o l d a i r was
d i r e c t e d on t h e i n v e r t e r u n t i l t h e t e m p e r a t u r e dropped below
llO°F. The count was resumed and c o n t i n u e d u n t i l launch.
A t l a u n c h , t h e i n v e r t e r temperature was below 170°F. Figure
14.2-1 i s a t i m e h i s t o r y of these t e m p e r a t u r e r e a d o u t s in t h e
p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g launch.

89
5
0
0
c
z
3
0
V

n:
w
I-
n:
W
>
z
a
>
0
Ln
N

L
0
w
d
3
I-
a
n:
w
a
3

I-
14.2.2 General Bystem Modifications (Cont'd)

The periscope r e t r a c t s i g n a l was modified t o read

out t h e c l o s u r e of t h e periscope cover i n s t e a d of monitoring
t h e periscope motor current. Earth and Sky camera alignment
-data is presented i n Figure 14.2-2.

91
 BY

LX

6-
.
TY

VIEW LOOKING TOWARD 2'0

VIEW "A"

5O

ROTATED 15O CW WITH RESPECT ROTATED 105' CW WITH RESPECT

TO VIEW "A" TO VIEW ?'A"

FIGURE 14.2-2 EARi:! AND SKY CAMERA ALIGNMENT

' 92
<
 14.3 Computer and Data Flow System Operation

The Mercury C o n t r o l C e n t e r p l o t b o a r d and d i g i t a l d i s -

p l a y s a c t i v a t e d f o r t h i s mission a r e based on computer programs
w r i t t e n f o r A t l a s m i s s i o n s . Because of t h i s , t h e y a r e rela-
t i v e l y i n e f f i c i e n t f o r u s e i n Redstone m i s s i o n s s i n c e r e l a t i v e l y
complicated o p e r a t i o n a l procedures are n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e i r
proper operation,
. Direct c o p i e s of t h e Mercury C o n t r o l Center p l o t b o a r d s
a r e shown i n F i g u r e s 1 4 . 3 - 1 t o 14.3-3. These p l o t b o a r d s were
a c t i v a t e d by r e a l t i m e d a t a from t h e AZUSA and t h e Cape FPS-16
--..
r a d a r p . P o s i t i o n and v e l o c i t y v e c t o r s were t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e
Godciard iDm t w m Computer from the iiange SaZe’ay Impact Prediction
IBM 709 Computer. The launch computations w e r e t h e n made i n
r e a l t i m e and t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e Mercury C o n t r o l Center p l o t -
boards and d i g i t a l d i s p l a y s . The p l o t b o a r d s and t h e q u a n t i t i e s
d i s p l a y e d are i n d i c a t e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g t a b l e :
PLOTBOARDS AND QUANTITIES DISPLAYED
FIGURE PLOTBOARD
NO. NO. TIME QUANTITY

14.3-1 la L i f t - o f f t o manual Inertial flight-path

c l o s u r e of a b o r t
i n i t i a t e override
s w i t c h and c l o s u r e
of a b o r t mode s w i t c h
lb Abort mode s w i t c h
t o loss of s i g n a l
14.3-2 2a Lift-off t o a b o r t
initiate switch
. t a n c e (d)
2b Abort mode t o
l o s s of s i g n a l
a n g l e ( r i ) vs. i n e r t i a l
v e l o c i t y (Vi)
Height above average
s p h e r i c a l e a r t h (r-x)
vs. i n e r t i a l v e l o c i t y
(V)
Crossrange d i s t a n c e
(y)vs, downrange d i s -
t a n c e (d) A l t i t u d e
(h) vs. downrange d i s -
A l t i t u d e (h) vs, down-
range d i s t a n c e (d)

93
'\
14.3 Computer and Data Flow System Operation (Cont'd)

FIGURE PLOTBOARD
86. NO. TIME QUANTI'IY

14.3.3 4a L i f t - o f f t o tower Impact p o i n t f o r

separation immediate a b o r t
u s i n g escape tower,
(Longitude and
L a t it u d e )

4b Tower s e p a r a t i o n Impact p o i n t f o r
+,k abort i a i t i a t e m r r C m r r P i rr-
ALUAVIAAL
nncI-
ALGUA
nrrrsm-1
u u A u i a A

switch time. (Longitude and

L a t itude)

4c Abort mode t o l o s s P r e s e n t p o s i t i o n and

of s i g n a l impact p o i n t a s i n 4b.
(Longitude and
Latitude)
The manual s w i t c h e s i n d i c a t e d i n t h e above t a b l e were used
as p a r t of t h e o p e r a t i o n a l procedures f o r Mercury-Redstone f l i g h t s
i n o r d e r t o a d a p t computer programs w r i t t e n f o r A t l a s m i s s i o n s
f o r u s e i n Redstone missions.
These s w i t c h e s (except f o r t h e Abort-Hold-Orbit s w i t c h ) a r e
a p a r t of t h e F l i g h t Communicator's c o n s o l e and are used t o con-
f i r m or r e j e c t e v e n t s i g n a l s from capsule t e l e m e t r y s o t h a t t h e
i n p u t t o t h e Goddard 7090 Computer c a n be c o n t r o l l e d , O r d i n a r i l y ,
t e l e m e t r y s i g n a l s of any event a r e d i r e c t i n p u t s t o t h e computer.
I f t h e s i g n a l is found t o be e r r o n e o u s by t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r
p e r s o n n e l t h e o v e r r i d e s w i t c h e s a t t h e Capsule Communicator's
Console are used t o c o r r e c t t h e i n p u t . The computer can always
c o r r e c t its computations t o provide t h e c o r r e c t d i s p l a y s t o t h e
c o n t r o l c e n t e r u n t i l t h e time t h a t t h e Abort-Hold-Orbit s w i t c h
( l o c a t e d i n t h e d a t a s e l e c t i o n room of t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r ) is
changed from Hold t o e i t h e r Abort or O r b i t a t t h e d i r e c t i o n of
t h e F l i g h t Dynamics O f f i c e r . O r d i n a k i l y t h i s is done f o r an
Atlas m i s s i o n a f t e r t h e GO-NO-GO d e c i s i o n is made. Once t h e
change is made t o Abort or O r b i t , however, t h e computer is n o t
p r e s e n t l y c a p a b l e of r e - e n t e r i n g t h e launch (Hold) mode. There-
f o r e i t is v e r y important t o e s t a b l i s h i f an a b o r t t r u l y has
o c c u r r e d b e f o r e changing t h e computer mode w i t h t h e Abort-Hold-
O r b i t switch.

97
 14.3 Computer and Data Flow System Operation (Cont'd)
The computer l o g i c u t i l i z e s t e l e m e t r y e v e n t s s i g n a l s and
manual o v e r r i d e s of t h e s e s i g n a l to c o n t r o l t h e o u t p u t t o t h e
Mercury C o n t r o l Center. The s i g n a l s used f o r t h e Redstone
m i s s i o n and t h e s i g n a l s o u r c e a r e i n d i c a t e d below i n t h e o r d e r
t h a t they were normally expected t o o c c u r :

EVENT AND ORDER

OF OCCURRENCE SOURCE TIME

1. Lift-off Manual o v e r r i d e s w i t c h A t lift-off

2. Tower s e p a r a t i o n Direct telemetry i n t o

computer
3. Abort I n i t i a t e Manual o v e r r i d e s w i t c h A t engine c u t o f f

4. Posigrade f i r i n g Manual o v e r r i d e s w i t c h A t capsule

separation
5. Capsule separation Direct t e l e m e t r y i n t o
computer
6. Abort-Hold-Orbit Manual 3 p o s i t i o n s w i t c h A f t e r c a p s u l e
Switch t o a b o r t separation
mode
7. Retrofire D i r e c t telemetry i n t o
computer
8. Escape r o c k e t f i r e Direct t e l e m e t r y i n t o
computer
The l i f t - o f f manual o v e r r i d e and t h e p o s i g r a d e manual over-
r i d e s w i t c h were planned t o be used i n t h i s m i s s i o n s i n c e t h e s e
s i g n a l s were n o t y e t a v a i l a b l e from c a p s u l e t e l e m e t r y or o t h e r
sources.
The a b o r t i n i t i a t e o v e r r i d e s w i t c h was planned t o be used
?
i n t h i s mission a s an engine c u t o f f s i g n a l t o r e p l a c e t h e normal
SECO s i g n a l r e c e i v e d i n A t l a s m i s s i o n s . A c u t o f f s i g n a l was n o t
a v a i l a b l e t o t h e computer from Redstone t e l e m e t r y , a n d a SECO
o v e r r i d e s w i t c h had n o t y e t been provided i n t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r .

98
14.3 Computer and Data Flow System Operation (Cont'd)
I n t h e a c t u a l f l i g h t t e l e m e t r y was l o s t a t burnout when
t h e a b o r t a c t u a l l y o c c u r r e d , and as a r e s u l t most of t h e teleme-
t r y e v e n t s were t r a n s m i t t e d e r r o n e o u s l y t o t h e computer. The
t e l e m e t r y e v e n t s i g n a l i n d i c a t i n g e s c a p e tower s e p a r a t i o n w a s
i n c l u d e d i n t h i s t r a n s m i s s i o n and caused t h e computer t o p r e d i c t
impact p o i n t s assuming f i r i n g of t h e r e t r o r o c k e t s rather t h a n
f i r i n g of t h e escape tower, c a u s i n g t h e c a l c u l a t e d impact p o i n t
t o be s h o r t of t h e a c t u a l .
S i n c e t h e t e l e m e t r y s i g n a l s i n d i c a t i n g a b o r t i n i t i a t e and
c a p s u l e s e p a r a t i o n were a l s o r e c e i v e d , t h e computing program
entered and completed the Ca-NO-Ca ccmputak&ons, subsequently
t r a n s f e r r i n g program c o n t r o l from t h e launch phase t o t h e h o l d
phase. The Redstone computing program d i d n o t c o n t a i n n e c e s s a r y
l o g i c t o e n a b l e t r a n s f e r s back t o t h e launch phase from t h e h o l d
phase and consequently was locked i n t h e hold phase u n t i l t h e
Abort-Hold-Orbit witch was placed i n t h e a b o r t p o s i t i o n . Program
l o g i c t o accompoish t h i s t r a n s f e r back t o t h e launch phase had
n o t y e t been added t o t h e Redstone program.
For t h i s s p e c i f i c t y p e of abort, a n a b o r t w i t h t h e e s c a p e
tower d u r i n g which t h e telemetry e v e n t s i n d i c a t e tower s e p a r a t i o n ,
t h e tower s e p a r a t i o n e v e n t must be manually o v e r r i d d e n t o p r e v e n t
e r r o n e o u s computation of t h e impact p o i n t . For t h e MR-2 m i s s i o n
t h i s manual o v e r r i d e s h o u l d have o c c u r r e d a t t h e t i m e tower
s e p p r a t i o n appeared o r dw-ing t h e n i n e second p e r i o d between
t h e appearance of t h e s i g n a l and e n t r y 0f t h e h o l d phase by t h e
computing program. The o v e r r i d e w a s a c t u a l l y s e t seven seconds
a f t e r t h e a b o r t s w i t c h o r approximately 38 seconds a f t e r t h e
appearance of t h e tower s e p a r a t i o n t e l e m e t r y .
I t s h o u l d be emphasized t h a t t h i s same s i t u a t i o n can a l s o
o c c u r w i t h t h e Mercury-Atlas computing program.
The e v e n t t i m e s a r e noted below:

EVENT TIME PROM RANGE ZERO

A c t u a l Abort I n i t i a t e (Telemetry) 02: 18
Escape Rocket F i r e (Telemetry) 02 :18
Tower s e p a r a t i o n (erroneous e v e n t
from t e l e m e t r y a t loss of s i g n a l ) 02:21.17
Abort-Hold-Orbit s w i t c h set t o a b o r t
manually 02 :52.73
Tower s e p a r a t i o n manually o v e r r i d d e n
t o no e v e n t 02 :59.54
99
14.3 Computer and D a t a Flow System Operation (Cont'd)
In a d d i t i o n t o t h e l o s s of t e l e m e t r y when t h e e s c a p e
r o c k e t f i r e d , t h e sequence of e v e n t s i n t h e m i s s i o n were f u r t h e r
confused by a loss of AZUSA data f i v e seconds b e f o r e b o o s t e r
f u e l d e p l e t i o n . The d a t a source w a s t h e n s w i t c h e d t o t h e Cape
FPS-16 r a d a r and t h i s r a d a r l o s t lock when t h e e s c a p e r o c k e t
f i r e d and d i d n o t r e g a i n lock u n t i l e i g h t seconds l a t e r . The
e f f e c t s of t h e complete dropout of d a t a immediately a t e n g i n e
burnout c a n be s e e n i n F i g u r e s 14.3-1 t o 14.3-3. In a d d i t i o n ,
t h e Goddard computer used €hese noisy d a t a t o compute an
e r r o n e o u s burn o u t v e l o c i t y of 9,220 f e e t p e r second.
--
A- - -- -
1 thnijgh many cimultaneou=ly s c c ~ r r i n gex/en+,= r e s u l t e d
i n a poor p r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e c o n t r o l c e n t e r p e r s o n n e l , t h e
computing s y s t e m performed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y i n t h a t i t d i d what
i t w a s t o l d t o do. X t is e v i d e n t , however, t h a t i n o r d e r t o i n -
s u r e adequate p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o t h e Mercury C o n t r o l Center
p e r s o n n e l f o r f u t u r e m i s s i o n s , m o d i f i c a t i o n s s h o u l d be made
t o t h e o p e r a t i o n a l procedures and t o t h e computer program for
s p e c i f i c Redstone u s e .

100
 FLIGHT EVALUATION TEAM
The F l i g h t E v a l u a t i o n Team f o r t h e MR-2 f l i g h t from whose
a n a l y s i s t h i s r e p o r t is based c o n s i s t e d of t h e f o l l o w i n g p e o p l e : I

R%&kd.r-dC . .Arbic . C. C. K r a f t

Sam T. Beddingfield H. R. Largent

.John A. behuncik P. e. .Maloney
"T n h n ,D.
VIIU lager

Arthur ld. Busch Vernon M i t c h e l l

T. G. Broughton A. A . Morse
Nancy K. Carter Major D a n i e l Moseley
Donald C. Cheatbam F. T. P i e r c e , Jr.
Raymond R. Clemens F. H. Samonski, Jr.
Paul C. Donnelly J . M. S a t t e r f i e l d
D r . Marion Grunzke G. M. Simpson, Jr.
Robert D. Harrington T. H. Skopinski
D r . J. D. Henry Robert F. Thompson
John J a n o k a i t i s James M. Towey
Sidney C. Jones Kenneth L. Turner
W. J . Kapryan C h a r l e s I . Tynan, Jr.

In a d d i t i o n , W. J . Kapryan a s s i s t e d in e d i t i n g t h e material
c o n c e r n i n g c a p s u l e measurements and s y s t e m s performance.

101