Mercury Redstone Sub-orbital Flight Events
| T+ Time | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| T+00:00:00 | Liftoff | Mercury-Redstone lifts off, onboard clock starts. |
| T+00:00:16 | Pitch Program | Redstone pitches over 2 deg/s from 90 deg to 45 deg. |
| T+00:00:40 | End Pitch Program | Redstone reaches 45 deg pitch. |
| T+00:01:24 | Max Q | Maximum dynamic pressure ~575 lbf/ft² (28 kPa). |
| T+00:02:20 | BECO | Redstone engine shutdown - Booster Engine Cutoff. Velocity 5,200 mph (2.3 km/s) |
| T+00:02:22 | Tower Jettison | Escape Tower Jettison, no longer needed. |
| T+00:02:24 | Spacecraft Separation | Posigrade rockets fire for 1 s giving 15 ft/s (4.6 m/s) separation. |
| T+00:02:35 | Turnaround Maneuver | Spacecraft (ASCS) system rotates spacecraft 180 deg, to heat shield forward attitude. Nose is pitched down 34 deg to retro fire position. |
| T+00:05:00 | Apogee | Apogee of about 115 mi (185 km) reached at 150 mi (240 km) downrange from launch site. |
| T+00:05:15 | Retrofire | Three retro rockets fire for 10 s each. They are started at 5 s intervals, firing overlaps. Delta-V of 550 ft/s (170 m/s) is taken off forward velocity. |
| T+00:05:45 | Retract Periscope | Periscope is automatically retracted in preparation for reentry. |
| T+00:06:15 | Retro Pack Jettison | One minute after retrofire retro pack is jettisoned, leaving heatshield clear. |
| T+00:06:20 | Retro Attitude Maneuver | (ASCS) orients spacecraft in 34 deg nose down pitch, 0 deg roll, 0 deg yaw. |
| T+00:07:15 | .05 g Maneuver | (ASCS) detects beginning of reentry and rolls spacecraft at 10 deg/s to stabilize spacecraft during reentry. |
| T+00:09:38 | Drogue Parachute Deploy | Drogue parachute deployed at 22,000 ft (6.7 km) slowing descent to 365 ft/s (111 m/s) and stabilizing spacecraft. |
| T+00:09:45 | Snorkel Deploy | Fresh air snorkel deploys at 20,000 ft (6.1 km). (ECS) switches to emergency oxygen rate to cool cabin. |
| T+00:10:15 | Main Parachute Deploy | Main parachute deploys at 10,000 ft (3.0 km). Descent rate slows to 30 ft/s (9.1 m/s) |
| T+00:10:20 | Landing Bag Deploy | Landing Bag Deploys, dropping heat shield down 4 ft (1.2 m). |
| T+00:10:20 | Fuel Dump | Remaining hydrogen peroxide fuel automatically dumped. |
| T+00:15:30 | Splashdown | Spacecraft lands in water about 300 mi (480 km) downrange from launch site. |
| T+00:15:30 | Rescue Aids Deploy | Rescue aid package deployed. The package includes green dye marker, recovery radio beacon and whip antenna. |
Read more about this topic: Mercury-Redstone 4
Famous quotes containing the words mercury, flight and/or events:
“The mercury sank in the mouth of the dying day.
What instruments we have agree
The day of his death was a dark cold day.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“In all her products, Nature only develops her simplest germs. One would say that it was no great stretch of invention to create birds. The hawk which now takes his flight over the top of the wood was at first, perchance, only a leaf which fluttered in its aisles. From rustling leaves she came in the course of ages to the loftier flight and clear carol of the bird.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)