Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) was launched on January 31, 1961, at 16:55 UTC from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This suborbital flight carried the first chimpanzee, Ham, into outer space. The capsule, along with Ham, the first great ape in space, safely landed in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds after launch. Ham's name is derived from the lab that trained him for this historic mission—the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center. At the time of the launch, Ham was 3 years and 8 months old, and he passed away on January 19, 1983, at the age of 26. He was one of many animals sent into space.
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| A "Sarzin" MR-2 cover featuring Ham the chimp, postmarked at Port Canaveral on January 31, 1961. |
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| Photo: This image features Ham, the space chimpanzee, inside the capsule during his spaceflight from Cape Canaveral. Enlarged from a 16 mm motion picture film released by NASA, the image was captured by an automatic camera mounted inside the capsule, focused on Ham's face as reflected in a mirror. The camera recorded at four frames per second, using natural daylight for exposure. Along with this camera, three additional 16 mm cameras were used during the flight: one focused on the instrument panel, another directed toward Earth, and the third capturing the rocket separation. |
The Mercury-Redstone 2 sub-orbital flight encountered several issues. The rocket over-accelerated, causing the spacecraft to overshoot its planned altitude and distance. A malfunction in the attitude control system led to erratic movements and higher-than-expected g-forces. The environmental control system also failed, resulting in a cabin pressure drop, though Ham was protected by his pressure suit. Additionally, the spacecraft experienced more intense reentry heating due to the overshoot, and after splashdown, it began to sink because of a leaky hatch. Despite these problems, the mission provided valuable data for future manned flights.
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| A MR-2 cover from "Swanson", featuring a stamped parachuting monkey cachet, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on January 31, 1961. |
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| Photo: Space chimpanzee Ham was brought to USS Donner after recovery. |
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| Two "Goldcraft" covers featuring a cachet that illustrates the flight path of MR-2. The top cover is postmarked at Port Canaveral on January 31, 1961, while the bottom cover is postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on the same date. |
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| Ham was recovered by a helicopter and brought aboard the USS Donner. However, since the ship's post office was closed that day, Rich Hoffner, who created this cover, sent 63 covers to the secondary recovery ship, the USS Warrington, to be postmarked on January 31, 1961, for the Mercury-Redstone 2 recovery. |
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| Ham was recovered by a helicopter and brought aboard the USS Donner. However, since the ship's post office was closed that day, Rich Hoffner, who created this cover, sent 63 covers to the secondary recovery ship, the USS Warrington, to be postmarked on January 31, 1961, for the Mercury-Redstone 2 recovery. |
(Reference from
Mercury-Redstone 2)
