| THE MERCURY PROGRAM | ||
Two booster rockets were chosen to support the Mercury Program. The choice was an important issue that would determine how far it could transport the ship into the atmosphere. The first rocket selected, the Redstone, was originally designed as a short-distance nuclear intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), but it lacked the power to put the Mercury capsule and an astronaut into orbit. The Atlas rocket, which was a modified intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was picked for the orbital flights of Project Mercury. Early unmanned tests of the booster and the capsule were carried out using a chimpanzee in place of an astronaut. |
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