Big Joe 1 mission was to evaluate the ability of the capsule to withstand the stresses it receives during re-entry. The booster was an Atlas missile. The capsule landed 490 n.m. short of the planned landing point and about midway between two destroyers. Two P2V's received SARAH beacon indications and homed in on the capsule, sighting it at 3 hours and 31 minutes after lift off. They maintained surveillance of the capsule until the arrival of USS Strong DD 758, a Desflot Four destroyer, which recovered the capsule 7 hours and 54 minutes after lift off. (Extracted from the book "PROJECT MERCURY ...one step into space" by Donald O. Schultz)
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| Photo: Alan Shepard at the blockhouse to watch the launch of the Atlas rocket test on September 9, 1959. |
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| First flight of the Mercury Program. Postcard postmarked at Port Canaveral on September 9, 1959. Less than 20 event post cards, but no genuine covers recorded. |
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| Mercury capsule returned to port on September 10, 1959. |
