Mercury-Redstone 2

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Mercury-Redstone 2

Launch of Mercury-Redstone 2
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	16 minutes, 39 seconds
Distance travelled	679 kilometers (422 mi)
Apogee	253 kilometers (157 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Mercury No.5
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass	1,203 kilograms (2,652 lb)
Crew
Crew size	1 chimpanzee
Members	Ham
Callsign	Mercury-Redstone 2
Start of mission
Launch date	January 31, 1961, 16:55 (1961-01-31UTC16:55Z) UTC
Rocket	Redstone MRLV MR-2
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-5
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Donner
Landing date	January 31, 1961, 17:12 (1961-01-31UTC17:13Z) UTC
Ham Project Mercury Mercury-Redstone series ← Mercury-Redstone 1A Mercury-Redstone BD →

Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) was the test flight of the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle just prior to the first crewed American space mission in Project Mercury. Carrying a chimpanzee named Ham on a suborbital flight, Mercury spacecraft Number 5 was launched at 16:55 UTC on January 31, 1961, from LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The capsule and Ham, the first great ape in space, landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds after launch.