On this day in space: March 24, 1961: Mercury-Redstone BD rocket launches on uncrewed test flight

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On March 24, 1961, NASA's Mercury Redstone rocket launched on its last uncrewed flight before it started sending astronauts into space.

On March 24, 1961, NASA's Mercury Redstone rocket launched on its last uncrewed flight before it started sending astronauts into space. The mission was known as the Mercury Redstone Booster Development flight, and it wasn't originally planned as part of the Mercury Program. The previous Mercury Redstone flight carried a chimpanzee named Ham into space.

NASA's Mercury Redstone Booster Development rocket test flight launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 24, 1961.

NASA's Mercury Redstone Booster Development rocket test flight launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 24, 1961. (Image credit: NASA)

The Mercury Redstone rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral and traveled more than 300 miles (nearly 500 kilometers) downrange and reached an altitude of nearly 112 miles (180 km) before splashing into the Atlantic Ocean.

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The mission lasted 8 minutes and 23 second. It was deemed a success and cleared the way for Alan Shepard's historic first flight to space.

On This Day in Space: See our full 365-day video archive!

Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

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