Embedded Files
Flown Material from Big Joe 1
Flown Material from Big Joe 1
Acquired from Richard Garner-The Space Collective
Acquired from Richard Garner-The Space Collective
Date acquired 20th January 2018
Date acquired 20th January 2018
Collection # -TSM1
Collection # -TSM1
A small piece of material that was flown aboard Big joe 1. The composition, and its purpose aboard the spacecraft are not known. It appears to be a woven material, that is possibly impregnated with resin. One side of the material also bears scorch marks.
A small piece of material that was flown aboard Big joe 1. The composition, and its purpose aboard the spacecraft are not known. It appears to be a woven material, that is possibly impregnated with resin. One side of the material also bears scorch marks.
Flight Details
Flight Details
Big Joe 1 (Atlas-10D) launched an uncrewed boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 9 September 1959. The purposes of the Big Joe 1 were to test the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield, afterbody heating, reentry dynamics attitude control and recovery capability. It was also the first launch of a spacecraft in Project Mercury.
Big Joe 1 (Atlas-10D) launched an uncrewed boilerplate Mercury capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 9 September 1959. The purposes of the Big Joe 1 were to test the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield, afterbody heating, reentry dynamics attitude control and recovery capability. It was also the first launch of a spacecraft in Project Mercury.
There is a story about the preparations for this launch that stick in my mind. The Mercury program being the first that NASA had undertaken meant that they had not yet established themselves, they were using borrowed equipment, workshops and launch pads from the military. When the time came to transport the capsule to the launch vehicle at the pad, they realised they had no means to do so. One of the engineers went down to a local hardware store and purchased some sheets of ply wood. A mattress was also sourced, and using this sandwiched between the wood sheet a sprung platform to support the capsule was fashioned. This was secured to the back of a flatbed, that incidentally belonged to another of the NASA engineers, who had previously used it to transport himself, his family and all their belongings from Canada to the US to take up his new job. All a far cry from the antiseptic, high tech installations that are now synonymous with the space industry
There is a story about the preparations for this launch that stick in my mind. The Mercury program being the first that NASA had undertaken meant that they had not yet established themselves, they were using borrowed equipment, workshops and launch pads from the military. When the time came to transport the capsule to the launch vehicle at the pad, they realised they had no means to do so. One of the engineers went down to a local hardware store and purchased some sheets of ply wood. A mattress was also sourced, and using this sandwiched between the wood sheet a sprung platform to support the capsule was fashioned. This was secured to the back of a flatbed, that incidentally belonged to another of the NASA engineers, who had previously used it to transport himself, his family and all their belongings from Canada to the US to take up his new job. All a far cry from the antiseptic, high tech installations that are now synonymous with the space industry
Two images of Big Joe 1 launch vehicle and capsule
Two images of Big Joe 1 launch vehicle and capsule
The capsule from the flight on display
The capsule from the flight on display
The material has been incorporated into a display alongside a model of the launch vehicle
The material has been incorporated into a display alongside a model of the launch vehicle
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