Object Details
- Manufacturer
- McDonnell Aircraft Corp.
- Summary
- Mercury capsule #17 was the seventheenth of twenty spacecraft built for the first American human spaceflight project, which aimed to put a man in orbit. Between 1961 and 1963, six Mercury astronauts were launched on suborbital and orbital missions. Capsule #17 was sent to Cape Canaveral on April 18, 1963, as a possible source of spare parts for Gordon Cooper's Faith 7 spacecraft (#20), which was launched on the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) thirty-four hour orbital mission in May. Spacecraft #17 was also held in reserve for a second long-duration mission, MA-10, which was not flown.
- In early 1968, NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center) gave this capsule to the Smithsonian.
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Inventory Number
- A19680570000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- SPACECRAFT-Crewed
- Materials
- HAZMAT: Beryllium
- Skin & Structure: Titanium
- Shingles: Nickel-steel alloy; Beryllium shingles removed
- Ablation Shield: Glass fibers, resin
- Skin: Titanium
- Shingles: Nickel-steel alloy; Beryllium shingles removed
- Ablation Shield: Glass fibers, resin
- Dimensions
- Overall: 112 x 73in. (284.5 x 185.4cm)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19680570000
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9d93ae759-f249-444f-ab4c-878d0ace33fb
