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| A MR-2 launch cover from "Sarzin" featuring HAM the chimp, postmarked at Port Canaveral with a hand cancel on January 31, 1961. |
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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| Photo: HAM 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. |
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| A MR-2 launch cover from "Goldcraft" featuring the flight path of MR-2, postmarked at Port Canaveral with a hand cancel on January 31, 1961. |
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| A MR-2 launch cover from "Goldcraft" featuring the flight path of MR-2, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base with a machine cancel on January 31, 1961. |
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 launch cover from "Swanson", featuring a stamped parachuting monkey cachet, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base with a machine cancel on January 31, 1961. |
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| Photo: After completing his suborbital flight, HAM was safely recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and brought aboard the recovery ship, USS Donner. |
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A MR-2 reovery cover postmarked aboard USS Warrington with a hand cancel on January 31, 1961.
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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| Photo: Space chimpanzee HAM appears at a press conference following his historic Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) spaceflight on January 31, 1961. |
(Reference from
Mercury-Redstone 2)
