# @airandspacemuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFTmFWIxMJ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70167152-airandspacemuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/bfd1c80d79.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-09T22:12:38.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Air and Space Museum (@airandspacemuseum) — https://gondola.cc/airandspacemuseum

## Caption

The launch of Mercury capsule "Big Joe," which took place today in 1959, was the second launch of the Mercury program and the first using an Atlas booster. The unoccupied spacecraft's suborbital flight reached a peak altitude of 95 miles and lasted 13 minutes. The capsule was recovered from the Atlantic after splashdown and is in our collection.

The flight helped NASA evaluate the booster, the new ablative heat shield, the capsule's flight dynamics and aerodynamic shape, and spacecraft recovery systems and procedures. The heavily-instrumented "Big Joe" was the most massive American spacecraft launched up to that time. It weighed about as much as a crewed version would, and its success paved the way for the beginning of manned Mercury launches in 1961. #AirSpacePhoto

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 692
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- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

airspacephoto

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