Big Joe Ready for Launch at Cape Canaveral GPN-2002-000045.jpg (1/2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Joe

Big Joe was a subprogram of Project Mercury. It comprised a single flight
using the Atlas launch vehicle, and a boilerplate Mercury capsule. The
purpose of the Big Joe Program was to prove the ablative heatshield which
would be used for Mercury orbital missions.


[edit] Mission Numbering
The official Mercury mission numbering designation was a two letter
designation which corresponded to the launch vehicle type, followed by a
dash then a 1 or two character designation of the flight/test number. So the
official designation for the only Big Joe flight was BJ-1.


[edit] Atlas Launch Vehicle Numbering
The launch vehicle used for BJ-1 ("628/10-D") has a slightly different
numbering scheme than those used for the later Mercury-Atlas flights.

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