Mercury Atlas 3 (MA-3) was intended as an orbital flight test for the Mercury capsule, which housed a mechanical astronaut. After liftoff, the launch vehicle failed to roll to a 70-degree heading and pitch into the correct trajectory. The abort-sensing system activated the escape rockets before the range safety officer destroyed the launch vehicle approximately 40 seconds into the flight, at which point the vehicle had reached an altitude of about 5 km. The capsule continued to coast up to 7 km, deployed its parachutes, and landed in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 1.8 km north of the launch pad. It was recovered with only minor damage and was later sent back to the manufacturer for repairs. The refurbished capsule was subsequently used in the Mercury Atlas 4 mission.
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| MA-3 launch cover with Goldcraft cachet, postmarked Port Canaveral, April 25, 1961. |
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| MA-3 launch cover (unknown cachet maker) postmarked Port Canaveral, April 25, 1961. |
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| MA-3 launch cover with "Swanson" stamped cachet, postmarked Patrick Air Force Base, April 25, 1961. |
(Reference from
Mercury Atlas 3)
