Mission: Mercury-Atlas 5
Launch Pad: LC-14
Vehicle: Atlas (5)
Crew: Enos the chimp
Milestones:
Not applicable
Payload:
Spacecraft number 9, Launch Vehicle number 93-D
Mission Objective:
Primate test of Environmental Control System in Orbit.
Orbit:
Altitude: 147.4 apogee by 99.5 perigee statute miles
Orbits: 2
Period: 88 minutes, 26 seconds
Duration: 0 Days, 3 hours, 20 minutes, 59 seconds
Distance: 50,892 statute miles
Launch:
November 29, 1961, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Landing:
Not Applicable
Mission Highlights:
November 29, 1961, 3 hours and 22 minutes after launch. The capsule was spotted by a P5M search airplane at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The ships Stormes and Compton were contacted and they moved into position from a distance of 30 miles away. The "Stormes" arrived in the area 1 hour and 15 minutes after landing and hauled the capsule aboard via its lanyard, cracking the onboard window.
Enos, the orbiting chimpanzee fared well. He withstood a peak of 6.8g during booster-engine acceleration and 7.6g with the rush of the sustainer engine.
