2-860-718 - Heritage Space/Heritage Images

MA-1 capsule reassembled after explosion, USA, 1960. The main objectives of Mercury Atlas-1 (MA-1) were to recover the capsule and test the integrity of the Mercury capsule structure and afterbody shingles. About one minute after liftoff on July 29, 1960 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the unmanned MA-1 exploded and the remaining debris landed 7 miles off the coast. The debris was collected and engineers attempted to reassemble MA-1 to determine the cause of the explosion.