LAUNCH MISSION
NASA Atlas LV-3B Mercury-Atlas 8
Launch Pad
Space Launch Complex 14
Description
Mercury-Atlas 6 carrying Sigma 7 spacecraft carried astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr. to orbit where he completed 6 orbits lasting a total of 9 hours and 13 minutes. The mission goal was to compete engineering tests and all objectives were met.
Atlas LV-3B
Rocket Description
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. 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.