Mercury Atlas 3 (MA-3) was to be an orbital flight test of the Mercury capsule. The capsule contained a mechanical astronaut. After lift-off, the launch vehicle failed to roll to a 70 degree heading and to pitch over into the proper trajectory. The abort-sensing system activated the escape rockets prior to the launch vehicle's destruction by the range safety officer, appoximately 40 s into the flight. At that time the vehicle had achieved an altitude of about 5 km. The capsule then coasted up to 7 km, deployed its parachutes, and landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 1.8 km north of the launch pad. The capsule was recovered and was found to have incurred only superficial damage. It was subsequently shipped back to the manufacturer for refitting. The refitted capsule was reflown on Mercury Atlas 4.
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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)
