Big Joe 1 Mission

Launch Status

Partial Failure

Date & Time

9 Sep 1959, 8:19am

Location

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Site

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Pad

Space Launch Complex 14

Launch Service Provider

NASA logo

NASA

Vehicle

Atlas LV-3B image

Atlas LV-3B

Mission

Big Joe 1

Mission Type

Test Flight

Destination

Suborbital

Suborbital flight with the objective of testing the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield. The Atlas booster section failed to jettison, leading to a lower apogee. It was nonetheless sufficient to satisfy the Mercury spacecraft team.

Updated: Apr 16, 10:45am UTC

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