Mercury-Atlas 8

Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) was the fifth United States crewed space mission, part of NASA's Mercury program. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., orbited the Earth six times in the Sigma 7 spacecraft on October 3, 1962, in a nine-hour flight focused mainly on technical evaluation rather than on scientific experimentation. This was the longest U.S. crewed orbital flight yet achieved in the Space Race, though well behind the several-day record set by the Soviet Vostok 3 earlier in the year. It confirmed the Mercury spacecraft's durability ahead of the one-day Mercury-Atlas 9 mission that followed in 1963.

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1962  Wikimedia, Wikidata
human spaceflight, crewed spacecraft, Wally Schirra, low Earth orbit, SM-65D Atlas, 

• Retro Space HD page^@
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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

1962 Mercury-Atlas 8

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

rocket launch

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

1962-10-03T00:00:00Z

splashdown

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Frameless

MA-8 booster test firing

Mercury-8-walkout

Schirra donning pressure suit

Wally Schirra during training before Mercury-Atlas 8 mission

Wally Schirra at launch pad during training

S62-06634 (1962) --- Static test firing of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Atlas 113D during preflight verification of launch vehicle systems. Photo credit: NASA

Wally Schirra suiting-up during training

Wally Schirra 1962 portrait

Schirra with hands on hips

S62-08895 (1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, goes through a suiting-up exercise in Hangar "S" at Cape Canaveral several weeks prior to his scheduled Oct. 3, 1962 flight.

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
link	page		Retro Space HD page@		Wikidata
commons	image		MA-8 booster test firing		Commons
commons	image		Mercury-8-walkout		Commons
commons	image		Schirra donning pressure suit		Commons
commons	image		Wally Schirra during training before Mercury-Atlas 8 mission		Commons
commons	image		Wally Schirra at launch pad during training		Commons
commons	image		S62-06634 (1962) --- Static test firing of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Atlas 113D during preflight verification of launch vehicle systems. Photo credit: NASA		Commons
commons	image		Wally Schirra suiting-up during training		Commons
commons	image		Wally Schirra 1962 portrait		Commons
commons	image		Schirra with hands on hips		Commons
commons	image		S62-08895 (1962) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) Earth-orbital spaceflight, goes through a suiting-up exercise in Hangar "S" at Cape Canaveral several weeks prior to his scheduled Oct. 3, 1962 flight.		Commons