Mercury Atlas 8 Spacecraft: S/C-16 Launch Vehicle: Atlas 113-D Launched: 3 Oct 1962 Prime Crew	⇑ Mission List ⇑ Designation: Mercury A O-3 Description: 3rd Mercury Atlas manned orbital
	W M Schirra Backup Crew L G Cooper

Duration: 0.38 days Decay Date: 1962-10-03 USAF Sat Cat: 433 COSPAR: 1962-B-Delta-1 Apogee: 285 km (177 mi) Perigee: 153 km (95 mi) Inclination: 32.5000 deg Period: 88.80 min In the most successful American manned space flight to date, Schirra traveled nearly six orbits, returning to earth at a predetermined point in the Pacific Ocean 9 hours, 13 minutes after liftoff. Within 40 minutes after landing, he and his spacecraft were safely aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kearsarge. Schirra attempted and achieved a nearly perfect mission by sticking rigorously to mission plan. References: Grimwood, James M. 1963. Project Mercury: A Chronology. NASA SP-4001. Encyclopedia Astronautica. Wikipedia.