![]() NASA decided that the best choice of engines would be units with roughly medium-tier performance. Propulsion systems used for the Mercury vehicles would be limited to standard D-series Atlas models of the Rocketdyne MA-2 engines which had been tested and found to have performance parameters closely matching NASA's specifications. The factory inspection of Mercury vehicles was performed by Convair personnel specially chosen for their experience, familiarity with the Atlas hardware, and who had demonstrated a favorable disposition and work ethic. All components approved for the Mercury program were earmarked and stored separately from hardware intended for other Atlas programs and special handling procedures were done to protect them from damage. Components used in the Mercury-Atlas vehicles were given thorough testing to ensure proper manufacturing quality and operating condition, in addition components and subsystems with excessive operating hours, out-of-specification performance, and questionable inspection records would be rejected. JSTOR ( July 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Īside from the modifications described below, Convair set aside a separate assembly line dedicated to Mercury-Atlas vehicles which was staffed by personnel who received special orientation and training on the importance of the crewed space program and the need for as high a degree of top-quality workmanship as possible.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Despite the Atlas' developmental problems, NASA had the benefit of conducting Project Mercury simultaneously with the Atlas R&D program which gave plenty of test flights to draw data from as well as test modified equipment for Mercury. Plans to human-rate Atlas were effectively still on the drawing board and Convair estimated that 75% reliability would be achieved by early 1961 and 85% reliability by the end of the year. ![]() This was the fifth straight complete or partial Atlas failure and the booster was at this point nowhere near reliable enough to carry a nuclear warhead or an uncrewed satellite, let alone a human passenger. Shortly after being chosen for the program in early 1959, the Mercury astronauts were taken to watch the second D-series Atlas test, which exploded a minute into launch. Atlas's stage-and-a-half configuration was seen as preferable to the two-stage Titan in that all engines were ignited at liftoff, making it easier to test for hardware problems during pre-launch checks. As such, significant steps had to be taken to human-rate the missile to make it safe and reliable, unless NASA wished to spend several years developing a dedicated launch vehicle for crewed programs or else wait for the next-generation Titan II ICBM to become operational. ![]() The Atlas had been originally designed as a weapon system, thus its design and reliability did not need to necessarily be 100% perfect, with Atlas launches too frequently ending in explosions. The Atlas D missile was the natural choice for Project Mercury, as it was the only launch vehicle in the US arsenal that could put the spacecraft into orbit and also had many flights from which to gather data. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. The Atlas LV-3B was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. ![]() After the changes were made and approved, the US launched the LV-3B nine times, four of which had crewed Mercury spacecraft. With the Atlas having been originally designed as a weapon system, testing and design changes were made to the missile to make it a safe and reliable launch vehicle. Manufactured by Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets. The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit.
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