Mission Preparation
The capsule built for the mission, Mercury Spacecraft No. 16, had been delivered to Cape Canaveral on January 16, 1962. The Atlas LV-3B booster assigned to the mission, No. 113-D, was accepted by NASA at the Convair plant on July 27 and delivered on August 8. In late July, the launch date was set for September 18, but delays with the Atlas booster's delivery and a series of technical concerns with the safety of the rocket motors caused it to be pushed back several weeks. On September 6, the tests were scheduled to continue until September 24, which allowed for a probable launch on October 3. The booster was test-fired on September 8 to test changes to the engine combustion, and reported as ready for assembly on September 18.
Concerns had been raised that the radiation belt produced in orbit by the recent Operation Dominic nuclear tests would be dangerous to manned space missions, but an extensive study announced in early September declared that it was safe to fly. While the outside of the capsule was expected to receive a dosage of around 500 röntgens, the study concluded that shielding and the effect of the spacecraft structure would reduce this to around 8 röntgens experienced by the astronaut, well within established tolerance limits.
Schirra began training for the mission in early July, logging 29 hours in simulators as well as 31 hours in the spacecraft itself. This included multiple systems tests and three simulated flights, culminating in a six-and-a-half-hour simulated flight on September 29, with the spacecraft and booster fully stacked on the pad. Highlights of the training period included a visit from President John F. Kennedy on September 11.
The mission was reported as ready to go—"except for the weather"—on October 1. The major concern with the weather was a major tropical storm in the Atlantic, though there were also worries over a series of typhoons in the Pacific which could pose a problem for recovery operations. On the evening of October 2, the decision was taken to launch the next morning.
Read more about this topic: Mercury-Atlas 8
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