MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

ASTRONAUT BACKGROUND DATA
The astronaut for this mission was Malcolm Scott Carpenter. This mission was space flight #3 for Astronaut Carpenter.

LAUNCH AND ASCENT PHASE
The launch of the Redstone booster and Mercury spacecraft occurred at 11:36:14 AM Eastern Standard Time. The boost phase of the flight was nominal. The Mission Elapsed Time (MET) was 00:15:30.

Booster Engine Cut Off was nominal. Capsule Separation was triggered, on schedule, by the event Programmer.

The maximum longitudinal acceleration during ascent was 7.1 G.

The Mission Elapsed Time (MET) was 00:15:30.

SUB-ORBITAL COAST PHASE
The Redstone booster shut down at an altitude of 42.02 nautical miles and a velocity of 8998.0 feet/second. The spacecraft reached a ballistic apogee of 127.43 nautical miles at 00:05:39 MET, and was 240.0 nautical miles downrange. Total velocity at apogee was 6862.0 feet/second.

The spacecraft's mission event Programmer operated nominally during the flight.

The spacecraft telemetry systems operated as expected, providing the ground stations with reliable information throughout the flight.

Electrical Systems
The spacecraft's Electrical Systems operated perfectly. The following electrical readings are based on latest telemetry received from the spacecraft:

The average power consumption for the spacecraft was 27.5 amps.

Attitude Control Systems
Both Reaction Control System (RCS) A and B were completely operational during the mission.

The Attitude Control System fuel quantities, which are based on telemetry received prior to fuel dump, are 23.1 lbs left in the Manual fuel tank and 26.72 lbs left in the Automatic fuel tank.

Environmental Control System
The final Environmental Control System telemetry indicated an oxygen quantity of 3.95 lbs left in the primary tank and 3.96 lbs in the secondary tank. These O2 quantities are based on telemetry received prior to snorkel deployment.

The quantity of water left in the coolant tank was 37.95 lbs. The last cabin temperature reading from the spacecraft was 55.0 °F. The lowest cabin temperature during the flight was 55.0 °F at 00:01:25 MET.

The last cabin humidity reading from the spacecraft was 45.3%. The lowest cabin humidity during the flight was 45.3%. at 00:15:30 MET.

ASTRONAUT TASKS
Redstone Booster Tracking Experiment
Astronaut Carpenter was able to track the Atlas Sustainer for 00:00:30. This was a much longer period than expected.

RETROGRADE AND REENTRY PHASE
The retrograde sequence timer was set to its launch value of 00:04:45 MET. Retrograde rockets one, two and three all ignited properly. The retro rockets were fired, on schedule, by the event Programmer. The table below shows each retro rocket's firing time and the spacecraft's attitude at the end of each firing.

Retrograde package jettison ocurred at 00:06:15 MET. This event was triggered, on schedule, by the event Programmer.

The .05G manuever was initiated at 00:08:32 MET. It was triggered by the event Programmer, when .05G longitudinal acceleration was sensed.

DESCENT AND LANDING PHASE
Drogue parachute deployment was triggered, on schedule, by the event Programmer. Snorkel deployment was triggered, on schedule, by the event Programmer.

The Main parachute was deployed, on schedule, by the event Programmer.

Landing Bag deployment was triggered manually by the astronaut. Deployment of the Rescue Aids was triggered manually by the astronaut.

The maximum positive G loads during final descent was 0.9 G.

The descent rate was a nominal 31.0 feet/second. Astronaut Carpenter was recovered safely.

The landing was 69.14 nautical miles from landing zone DD6, one of the prime recovery areas designated for this sub-orbital mission.The capsule was recovered by Navy personnel 35 minutes after landing.

ASTRONAUT EVALUATION
For this mission, astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter a performance rating of 102%. The Manned Spacecraft Center commends the astronaut on an exemplary performance.