Status
Success
Rocket
Mission Details
Sigma 7 (MA-8)
Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) was the fifth United States manned space mission, part of NASA's Mercury program. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., orbited the Earth six times in the Sigma 7 spacecraft, in a nine-hour flight focused mainly on technical evaluation rather than on scientific experimentation. This was the longest U.S. manned 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.
Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 1,374.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit
Location
LC-14, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
Stats
1962
59th orbital launch attempt
Atlas LV-3B
9th mission
3rd mission of 1962
6th successful mission
5th consecutive successful mission