Q1921530

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.

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1961  Wikimedia, Wikidata
MR-2
sub-orbital spaceflight, flight testing, Ham, Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, 

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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

1961 Mercury-Redstone 2

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

rocket launch

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

1961-01-31T00:00:00Z

splashdown

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Frameless

Mercury-redstone 2 recovery

Ham Launch - GPN-2000-001007

Ham Launch - GPN-2000-001007 (cropped)

Earth from mercury - redstone 2

S61-01942 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Launch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) vehicle on Jan. 31, 1961. The 16-minute suborbital flight carried biomedical test subject chimpanzee (Ham) aboard. Photo credit: NASA

S61-04692 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Earth view from the Mercury Redstone 2 (MR-2) spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA

S61-04674 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Earth view from the Mercury Redstone 2 (MR-2) spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
commons	image		Mercury-redstone 2 recovery		Commons
commons	image		Ham Launch - GPN-2000-001007		Commons
commons	image		Ham Launch - GPN-2000-001007 (cropped)		Commons
commons	image		Earth from mercury - redstone 2		Commons
commons	image		S61-01942 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Launch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) vehicle on Jan. 31, 1961. The 16-minute suborbital flight carried biomedical test subject chimpanzee (Ham) aboard. Photo credit: NASA		Commons
commons	image		S61-04692 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Earth view from the Mercury Redstone 2 (MR-2) spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA		Commons
commons	image		S61-04674 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Earth view from the Mercury Redstone 2 (MR-2) spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA		Commons