- Usage
- Public Domain Mark 1.0
The audio posted here was recovered directly from a reel of tape found in the Mercury Control Center by Gene Kranz.
Digitized, cataloged and archived by the Houston Audio Control Room, at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
Digitized, cataloged and archived by the Houston Audio Control Room, at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
Reviews
Reviewer:
Colin Howell
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July 28, 2021
Subject: Three recordings (first two are duplicates), only the last is a Redstone.
Subject: Three recordings (first two are duplicates), only the last is a Redstone.
There are three recordings here. The first two are duplicates of each other, and they are the ones described in the associated text file. They don't sound like the recording of a Redstone launch at all, but rather of some other type of missile. It may have been air-launched: it sounds like the missile's drag chute comes out immediately, followed later by a main chute, and then the missile is followed down by aircraft to its ground impact.
The third recording, titled "Redstone Missile 6 Countdown Nov_1954", seems to be the Cape Canaveral launch of Redstone missile RS-6 over the Atlantic Missile Range on 17 November 1954, according to "History of the Redstone Missile System". This was an early development version of the Redstone ballistic missile, using an older, reliable device called the "LEV-3 autopilot" for control; the ST-80 "stable platform" guidance system used by the production missile was still under development and in this launch was riding as a passenger. Since the Redstone was a U.S. Army missile, I assume the launch crew were Army personnel. We hear the countdown and the launch, and there is some mention of a maneuver being made, but the recording ends about 70-80 seconds into the launch, before we hear the missile's fate. I presume it failed just after the end of the recording, because the History describes this launch as a failure with the following comments: "Ground programmed yaw maneuver caused missile control loss at 80 sec causing power plant erratic behavior. Human error in selection of yaw maneuver impulse."
The third recording, titled "Redstone Missile 6 Countdown Nov_1954", seems to be the Cape Canaveral launch of Redstone missile RS-6 over the Atlantic Missile Range on 17 November 1954, according to "History of the Redstone Missile System". This was an early development version of the Redstone ballistic missile, using an older, reliable device called the "LEV-3 autopilot" for control; the ST-80 "stable platform" guidance system used by the production missile was still under development and in this launch was riding as a passenger. Since the Redstone was a U.S. Army missile, I assume the launch crew were Army personnel. We hear the countdown and the launch, and there is some mention of a maneuver being made, but the recording ends about 70-80 seconds into the launch, before we hear the missile's fate. I presume it failed just after the end of the recording, because the History describes this launch as a failure with the following comments: "Ground programmed yaw maneuver caused missile control loss at 80 sec causing power plant erratic behavior. Human error in selection of yaw maneuver impulse."
