Mercury Redstone 5Spacecraft:S/C-15 Launch Vehicle: Redstone MR-4 Scheduled Launch: 1 Sep 1961 Last Scheduled: 1 Aug 1961 |
Prime Crew |
Description: 3rd Mercury Redstone manned suborbital |
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J H Glenn 
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Backup Crew |
D K Slayton
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As of 3 February 1960, a total of 8 Redstone launches were planned, the first two of which were to be unmanned. Delays in the Mercury program resulted in the Redstone flights coming much closer to the Atlas flights than originally planned. By the time of the first suborbital Mercury flight, the Soviet Union had already orbited Yuri Gagarin in April 1961. After Grissom's capsule sank in July 1961, it was still planned to fly Glenn on a suborbital flight to prove the capsule. But Gherman Titov was launched on a full-day orbital flight in August 1961, making NASA's suborbital hops look pathetic. Glenn was moved to the first orbital Atlas flight, and further suborbital Mercury Redstone flights were canceled. References:
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