Everything you never knew you wanted to know about the Mercury Project
MA-9
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Description of Mission
From SP-45 Mercury project summary
The Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission utilizing production spacecraft 20 and Atlas launch vehicle 130-D was successfully accomplished on May 15 and 16, 1963, with Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper as the pilot. It was launched from the Cape Canaveral test site for a planned 22 orbital-pass mission. Launch-vehicle performance was excellent and a near perfect orbit was attained. The orbital parameters were as follows: perigee 87.2 nautical miles; apogee. 144.2 nautical miles. For the first 18 orbital passes' the spacecraft systems performed as expected and the pilot was able to adhere to the flight plan and perform his activities as planned. Up to that time anomalies were limited to small nuisance-type problems. Beginning with the 19th orbital pass the spacecraft systems problems began with actuation of the 0.05g warning light. Investigation of the occurrence of this warning light indicated that the automatic control system had become latched into the mode required for the reentry phase. Later the alternating-current power supply for the control system failed to operate. These failures were analyzed by the pilot and the ground crew in real time and it was determined that the pilot would have to make a manual retrofire and reentry. He performed these maneuvers with close precision and landed a short distance from the prime recovery ship in the Pacific. The pilot and the spacecraft were recovered and hoisted aboard the carrier only 40 minutes after landing.
MA-9 Gallery
 MA-9 on the pad |
 MA-9 at Launch Complex 14 |
 Gordo walks to his ride |
 Onboard TV |
 Afloat on the Pacific |
 Recovery helicopter approaches |
 On Keersarge's elevator |
 Permission to board the USS Keersarge |
 Extraction |
More Information
See also Faith 7, Spacecraft 20, Gordon Cooper
