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73-603: Rose Knot was one of a series of smaller cargo vessels intended for coastal or short routes. The ship was a Maritime Commission (MC) type C1-M-AV1 cargo vessel built by the Pennsylvania Shipyard Inc., Beaumont, Texas as MC hull 2335, yard number 334, official number 247277, was completed and delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) ON 5 May 1945. The C1-M-AV1 ships were named either for types of knots or with "Coastal" being

146-591: A day; thus the Mercury 9 flight would bring the Mercury spacecraft up to the same level as that of the Soviets. In September 1962, NASA concluded negotiations with McDonnell to modify four Mercury spacecraft (#12, #15, #17 and #20) to a configuration that supported a one-day mission. Such changes to the spacecraft included the removal of the periscope and a redundant set of thrusters, and the addition of extra batteries and oxygen tanks. In November 1962, Gordon Cooper

219-666: A few images of the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Worldwide weather conditions during the flight were extremely favorable with most of the regions of the Earth the spacecraft passed over dominated by high pressure zones --in the three previous flights, only the Western Sahara and Southwestern United States were reliably cloudless. Nonetheless, haze and air pollution impeded visibility for Cooper--despite passing over Los Angeles and Calcutta , he could see neither city due to smog . At

292-497: A hypergolic igniter that would eliminate the need for hold-down time at launch to prevent rough combustion. With seven successful Mercury launches in a row, the failures of the early days seemed like a distant memory by early 1963 and NASA officials had a high degree of confidence in the Atlas that overshadowed its still spotty launch record. At the first meeting of senior MSFC officials for the year (January 11), Walter Williams noted that

365-498: A large number built for lend-lease were also given two-word names, this time beginning with "Hickory". About 65 of this subtype were complete for the U.S. Navy , like the USS Gadsden built by Walter Butler Shipyard . Those ships were generally named after counties in the U.S. C1-M-AV1 ships are a Alamosa -class cargo ships . One C1-ME-AV6 (also called C1-M-AV7 ) subype was built, MS  Coastal Liberator . Instead of

438-489: A long countdown hold), had left behind a toilet plunger as a joke. Instructions on the handle said, "Remove Before Launch". The gift did not make the trip. Neither did Cooper that day. Various problems with radar in Bermuda and the diesel engine that rolled back the gantry caused the launch to be cancelled until May 15. At 8:04:13 a.m. EST , May 15, 1963, Faith 7 was launched from Launch Complex 14. At T+60 seconds,

511-414: A longer booster burn. On Mercury-Atlas 8, 112 gallons of fuel were removed prior to launch and so an extended burn was not possible even with eliminating the hold-down, but on this flight there would be enough propellant to extend burn time. Cooper's decision to name his capsule Faith 7 was based on the faith he had in the Atlas booster and Mercury capsule to carry out the mission successfully, although it

584-849: A pleasure to operate and the workmanship outstanding. Converted to Troop Ships 4 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) The Type C1-B ships were built in eight different yards, all but 15 in West Coast yards, all but 20 in California, the majority at Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington, California . All but ten of the C1-B ships had steam turbine engines; the diesels were all built at Seattle-Tacoma SB Corp. , Tacoma, Washington and Western Pipe & Steel , San Francisco, California, with each producing five ships. The C1-B were full scantling ships with three decks in which

657-603: A primary tracking station (call sign RKV) off the coast of Peru. During Gemini 8 , with Neil Armstrong and David Scott practice-docking with an Agena target vehicle in tests for the Moon missions, the crewed capsule was closing with the Agena over the Pacific and was given the go through communications with Rose Knot . Docking was successful, but the Gemini had to separate and went into a dangerous uncontrolled spin. Armstrong brought

730-401: A reduction gear-box. They were manufactured by Nordberg Manufacturing Company . The engine speed was 220 rpm and the shaft 110 rpm. This configuration made maneuvering very easy when entering port, as one engine was run in reverse and the other ahead; change of direction was simply performed by energizing the appropriate magnetic coupling. All auxiliary equipment was electric. The engine room was

803-401: A result of postflight findings from failed Atlas launches over the previous year. These included adding a plastic liner to the inside of the turbopumps to prevent the turbine blades from rubbing against the casing and triggering an explosion from a friction spark, improvements to the wiring of the programmer, and additional steps taken to prevent the possibility of a fire breaking out in or around

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876-543: A significantly smaller and shallower draft vessel. This design evolved as an answer to the projected needs for military transport and supply of the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II . Type C1 ships under the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if built with another name e.g. Cape Turner . The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an agency of

949-409: A single reduction gearset via magnetic couplings , in the same family as the system used on various C3 ships where four such engines were coupled to one gearset for a total of 8,000 hp. The C1-M variant used diesel propulsion exclusively, but only a single 2,000 hp range engine and without magnetic couplings. All turbines and diesel engines were sourced from a variety of manufacturers. With

1022-492: A variable-pitch propeller. Only one ship was planned as this type, but five previously launched C1-M-AV1 ships were converted to this type for France. Modified and redesignated Many of these ships have been sold and scrapped but numerous examples are still in service with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO)s such as "Friend Ships". That organization used the ex " Pembina " built in Superior Wisconsin and renamed

1095-455: A very light upper deck, the sides of which are open ports to the second or main deck. The first keels were laid in 1939. Two of the Pusey and Jones ships were converted to PT boat tenders before entering service, including USS  Cyrene . Some of the diesel vessels were powered by 2, 6-cylinder Nordberg 2-stroke engines (Sulzer type) driving the single shaft via magnetic couplings and

1168-468: Is an example of a C1-M ship. The C1-M-AV1 subtype, a general cargo ship with one large diesel engine, was the most numerous. About 215 of this type were built in ten different shipyards. Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. of Wilmington, California built the largest number – about a quarter of all built. These ships were either named for knots , such as MS  Acorn Knot , or with a two-word name beginning with "Coastal", such as MS  Coastal Sentry ;

1241-655: The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida . Rose Knot operated in the intercontinental ballistic missile re-entry area near Ascension Island , and was home-ported out of Recife, Brazil . Rose Knot was placed in custody of the Suisun Bay reserve fleet on 26 March and permanently transferred 25 October 1968. The ship was sold to King Industrial Development Corporation for non-transportation use for $ 76,011 on 28 June 1977 with

1314-894: The General Engineering & Dry Dock Company , the Tampa Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , the Newburgh Shipbuilding and Repair Company of New York, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company , the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company . Bids (for either C1-A or C1-B in either steam of diesel variants) were opened on 11 July 1939. Pusey and Jones successfully bid on 2 C1-A ships. Contracts were awarded in September 1939. Two of these early-built ships joined

1387-720: The Tibetan highlands and of the Himalayas . During the flight Cooper reported that he could see roads, rivers, small villages, and even individual houses if the lighting and background conditions were right. This was later confirmed by the two-person Gemini crews that later flew (which included Cooper). Cooper slept intermittently the next six hours, during orbits 10 through 13. He woke from time to time and took more pictures, taped status reports, and kept adjusting his spacesuit temperature control which kept getting too hot or too cold. On his fourteenth orbit, Cooper took an assessment of

1460-407: The "Spirit of Grace" until she was removed in 2006 and scrapped in 2008. Several are sailing in merchant service around the world making port calls and delivering cargo. Note any ship in the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if being built as another name e.g. Cape Turner Mercury-Atlas 9 Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final crewed space mission of

1533-510: The Air Force had yet to provide an explanation for two Atlas F failures during the second half of 1962. Until the investigation committees released their findings and cleared the Atlas D of guilt by association, Cooper's flight could be delayed. During the seven months between Schirra's and Cooper's flights, there were five failures of Atlas D vehicles (one of them an Atlas-Agena, the rest operational ICBM tests). NASA did not let its guard down on

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1606-500: The Atlas started its pitch program. Shortly afterward, MA-9 passed through max Q . At T+2 minutes 14 seconds Cooper felt BECO (Booster Engine Cutoff) and staging. The two Atlas booster engines had been left behind. The Launch Escape Tower was then jettisoned. At T+3 minutes the cabin pressure sealed at 5.5 psi (38 kPa). Cooper reported, "Faith 7 is all go." At about T+5 minutes was SECO (Sustainer Engine Cutoff) and Faith 7 entered orbit at 17,547 mph (7,844 m/s). After

1679-448: The Atlas, despite the recent high degree of success enjoyed by Project Mercury. When Atlas 130D received its factory rollout on January 30, it was found to have damaged wiring and had to be sent back for repairs. At his first press conference on February 8, Gordon Cooper admitted to not knowing much about the booster problems and focused instead on the enhancements made to his Mercury capsule. The numerous added equipment and consumables for

1752-581: The Liberty and Victory ships. The first C series vessels were designed prior to hostilities and were meant to be commercially viable ships to modernize the US Merchant Marine, and reduce the US reliance on foreign shipping. The Liberty ships were a throwback to late 19th century British designs with reciprocating steam engines, but were very cheap to build in large quantities; Victory ships evolved from

1825-412: The Liberty ships but used modern turbine engines. The C series ships were more expensive to produce, but their economic viability lasted well into the late 1960s and early 1970s in military and merchant fleets. Several ships are still in operation. The Type C1-A and C1-B ships were similar in design, All had a rated top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The primary difference between them

1898-612: The Maritime Commission. For Seattle-Tacoma , the C1-B contract prompted the reopening (and rebuilding) of the Tacoma yard. Consolidated Steel entered the shipbuilding business in 1939. Timing makes these ship constructions interesting, as they were on slipways when the U.S. shipbuilding industry was going through the transition of 1940/1941 towards war time production and many ships, whether afloat or building, were reassigned to fulfill new duties. Unsuccessful bids were made by

1971-682: The Olympia fleet. Title to the ship was transferred to the U.S. Air Force on 1 April 1957 and, after conversion, which operation as a range instrumentation ship under Commander, USAF Eastern Test Range (AFETR). The range and its facilities were operated by Pan American World Services and RCA under contract. On 1 July 1964 the USAF tracking ships were transferred to the custody of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) for operation. MSTS had administrative control of

2044-411: The U.S. Mercury program , launched on May 15, 1963, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral , Florida . The spacecraft, named Faith 7 , completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean , piloted by astronaut Gordon Cooper , then a United States Air Force major . The Atlas rocket was No. 130-D, and the Mercury spacecraft was No. 20. As of November 2024, this mission marks

2117-617: The United States government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , passed by Congress on 29 June 1936 and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I . It was intended to formulate a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build five hundred modern merchant cargo ships to supplement and replace the World War I vintage vessels, including Hog Islander ships, that comprised

2190-489: The antenna canister. A strain gauge in the antenna canister would measure differences in atmospheric drag between the 100-mile (160 km) perigee and the 160-mile (260 km) apogee. Cooper tried several times to eject the balloon, but it failed to eject. Cooper passed Schirra's orbital record on the seventh orbit while he was engaged in radiation experiments. After 10 hours, the Zanzibar tracking station informed Cooper

2263-437: The automatic stabilization and control system without electric power. On the 21st orbit, John Glenn on board the tracking ship Coastal Sentry Quebec near Kyūshū , Japan , helped Cooper prepare a revised checklist for retrofire. Due to the system malfunctions, many of the steps would have to be done manually. Only Hawaii and Zanzibar were in radio range on this last orbit, but communications were good. Cooper noted that

USNS Rose Knot - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-414: The bulk of the U.S. Merchant Marine . These old standardized ship designs ranged in size from 5,075dwt to 7,500dwt , 8,800dwt and 9,600dwt for the most common mass-produced types. They either had steam turbines or triple expansion engines, burning oil their boilers. None of the World War I standard designs had diesel engines. From 1939 through the end of World War II , MARCOM funded and administered

2409-646: The capsule under control, and an emergency recovery was made off Okinawa . An example of the ship's command control function was seen during Gemini 9 when commands sent from the ship disarmed a bus inadvertently left on after the capsule lost signal with the Hawaii ground control station. Rose Knot , assigned to the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean area, provided the Air Force with metric data on intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from

2482-403: The carbon dioxide level was rising in the cabin and in his spacesuit. He told Carpenter as he passed over Zanzibar, "Things are beginning to stack up a little." Throughout the problems, Cooper remained cool, calm and collected. Cooper did not experience much of an appetite during the flight and ate only because it was scheduled. The food containers and water dispenser system proved unwieldy and he

2555-478: The day-long mission boosted the weight of Faith 7 considerably; it now weighed over 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg). On March 15, the Atlas was rolled out of the factory a second time and passed tests with flying colors; Convair engineers expressed confidence that this "was their best bird yet." The booster actuators were offset slightly to prevent a recurrence of the liftoff roll transient that occurred on Mercury-Atlas 8. Several minor modifications were made to 130D as

2628-623: The diesel engine direct drive of the AV1 subtypes, it used diesel-electric drive. The diesel engine powered a generator to produce electricity, and an electric motor with 2,200 horsepower (1,600 kW) actually powered the vessel. Four of the C1-MT-BU1 subtype were built as lumber carriers, with twin screws. The lumber carriers were given U.S. State-and-tree names, such as MS  California Redwood . Built by Albina Engine & Machine Works , Portland, Oregon. The final subtype, C1-M-AV8 , had

2701-688: The exception of ships built for specific shipping lines before the war, the majority of the C1-A and C1-B ships were given two-word names beginning with "Cape", such as SS  Cape Hatteras . Forty-six Type C1-A ships were built at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas , with another 19 being built by Pusey and Jones in Wilmington, Delaware (not to be confused with Consolidated Steel 's Wilmington, California location). The majority were built with diesel motors, though 19 were built with steam turbine engines. These were shelter deck ships, having

2774-459: The first part of the name. Rose Knot is a type of decorative knot. As built the standard C1-M-AV1 cargo ship was 338 ft 8 in (103.2 m) length overall, 50 ft (15.2 m) molded beam, with a molded depth of 20 ft (6.1 m). The vessel was 3,800  GRT , 5,100  DWT with 21 ft (6.4 m) loaded draft. A 1,700 shaft horsepower diesel gave a design speed of 10.5 kn (12.1 mph; 19.4 km/h). The ship

2847-531: The first-generation Mercury hardware far enough, and taking more chances on another longer mission was not warranted; instead, NASA should move on to the Gemini program . Manned Spacecraft Center officials, however, believed that the Mercury team should be given the chance to test a human in space for a full day. In addition, all of the Soviet single-seat Vostok spacecraft launched after Vostok 1 lasted for more than

2920-438: The flight was a go for 17 orbits. Cooper was orbiting the Earth every 88 minutes 45 seconds at an inclination of 32.55 degrees to the equator. His scheduled rest period was during orbits 9 through 13. He had a dinner of powdered roast beef mush and some water, took pictures of Asia and reported the spacecraft condition. Cooper was not sleepy and during orbit 9 took some of the best photos made during his flight. He took pictures of

2993-452: The flight, lasting about an hour each. He experienced some discomfort from the pressure suit compressing his knees, which he alleviated by moving his feet slightly upward. An hour and 20 minutes before retrofire, Cooper took a dextroamphetamine tablet to ensure his alertness; he reported not feeling any sleepiness for the remainder of the flight. At the end of the 21st orbit, Cooper again contacted Glenn on Coastal Sentry Quebec . He reported

USNS Rose Knot - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-617: The frames hold the same dimensions as the upper deck. Full scantling ships have deck gear sufficient to completely unload their cargoes. A C1-B example and perhaps the most well-known was the SS ; Flying Enterprise . In 1939, under the Long Range Shipbuilding Program , contracts for 38 ships in batches of 2 to 5 vessels were awarded after one round of competitive bidding. Bethlehem San Francisco and Bethlehem Staten Island only produced on this occasion for

3139-442: The greenery of Earth. It was nearing 30 hours since liftoff. On the 19th orbit, the first sign of trouble appeared when the spacecraft 0.05 g (0.5 m/s ) light came on. However, this turned out to be a faulty indicator, and the spacecraft was not reentering. On the 20th orbit, Cooper lost all attitude readings. The 21st orbit saw a short-circuit occur in the bus bar serving the 250 VA (115 V, 400 Hz) main inverter. This left

3212-473: The largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding effort in world history, producing thousands of ships, including Liberty ships , Victory ships , and others, notably type C1 ships, type C2 ships , type C3 ships , type C4 ships , T2 tankers , Landing Ship Tank (LST)s and patrol frigates . By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under MARCOM contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant and naval ships. The C series of ships differed from

3285-494: The last time an American was launched alone to conduct an entirely solo orbital mission. The Mercury-Atlas 8 flight of Walter Schirra on October 3, 1962, had been so nearly perfect that some at NASA thought that the United States should quit while it was ahead and make MA-8 the last Mercury mission rather than risk a future disaster. The argument that MA-8 should be the last Mercury mission held that NASA had pushed

3358-462: The prime recovery ship, the carrier USS Kearsarge . This was the most accurate landing to date, despite the lack of automatic controls. Faith 7 landed 70 nautical miles (130 km) southeast of Midway Island , in the Pacific Ocean . This would be near 27°30′N 176°15′W  /  27.500°N 176.250°W  / 27.500; -176.250 . Splashdown was at 34 hours 19 minutes 49 seconds after liftoff. The spacecraft tipped over in

3431-532: The same type of agreement. On 17 June 1947, now under the Maritime Commission , the ship was under bareboat charter. Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company began operating the ship 10 December 1948 again under a general agency agreement until the ship was laid up in the Astoria, Oregon reserve fleet on 3 January 1949. Pacific Atlantic again operated the ship from 19 November 1951 to 11 February 1954 when

3504-465: The ship again went into the Astoria reserve fleet. On 11 May 1955, the ship came out of reserve for brief operation by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) through a general agency agreement by West Coast Trans-Oceanic Steamship until 27 October when the ship entered the Olympia, Washington reserve fleet. Rose Knot was briefly back in service under MSTS agreement with West Coast Steamship Company on 18 June through 8 August 1956 when it reentered

3577-598: The ship delivered to the buyer 4 August. The MARAD vessel status card has a note dated 2 December 1987 that MARAD approved the sale of Rose Knot by Shipowners, Inc., Bainbridge, Washington for scrapping in China. Type C1 ship#C1-M Type C1 was a designation for cargo ships built for the United States Maritime Commission before and during World War II . Total production was 493 ships built from 1940 to 1945. The first C1 types were

3650-581: The ship launching parade of the Liberty Fleet Day on 27 September 1941. after the Emergency Shipbuilding Program picked up momentum, Consolidated Steel remained the only manufacturer of the C1-B type. Converted to Troop Ships (all steam turbine driven) 7 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) (all steam turbine driven) The C1-S-AY1 subtype of thirteen ships built by Consolidated Steel Corporation

3723-721: The ships and operational control when the ships were in port. AFETR had operational control when the ships were at sea. At the time of the transfer USNS Rose Knot and USNS  Coastal Sentry were to be assigned to Project Gemini . The ship was one of six C1-M-AV1 type vessels joining six converted U.S. Army Freight and Supply (FS) type vessels already supporting missile tests, at the time largely jet-propelled subsonic cruise missiles. The FS tracking ships, also known as Ocean Range Vessels (ORV), were nameless, only having their Army FS numeric designations, and had been given phonetic names. In keeping with that practice USAF Rose Knot , designated E-45-1850 beginning conversion during May 1960,

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3796-507: The ships were launched as and by which name they were known to the Maritime Commission . The diesel (M for Motor) powered C1-M Type ships were a separate design from the C1-A and C1-B, meant for shorter runs and shallow harbors, either along the coasts, or for "island hopping" in the Pacific . These ships were shorter, narrower, and had less draft than the earlier C1 designs, and were rated at only 11 knots (20 km/h). USS  Alamosa

3869-416: The smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful were delivered prior to Pearl Harbor . But many C1-A and C1-B ships were already in the works and were delivered during 1942. Many were converted to military purposes including troop transports during the war. The Type C1-M ship was a separate design, for

3942-399: The spacecraft condition. The oxygen supply was sufficient. The peroxide fuel for attitude control was 69 percent in the automatic tank and 95 percent in the manual one. On the fifteenth orbit, he spent most of the time calibrating equipment and synchronizing clocks. When he entered night on the sixteenth orbit, Cooper pitched the spacecraft to slowly follow the plane of the ecliptic. Through

4015-405: The spacecraft separated and turned around to orbit attitude , Cooper watched the spent Atlas lag behind and tumble for about eight minutes. Over Zanzibar on the first orbit, he learned that the orbital parameters were good enough for at least 20 orbits. As the spacecraft passed over Guaymas, Mexico still on the first orbit, capsule communicator Gus Grissom told Cooper the ground computers said he

4088-505: The spacecraft was in retro attitude and holding manually. The checklist was complete. Glenn gave a ten-second countdown to retrofire. Cooper kept the spacecraft aligned at a 34° pitchdown angle and manually fired the retrorockets on "Mark!". Cooper had drawn lines on the window to stay aligned with constellations as he flew the craft. He later said he used his wristwatch to time the burn and his eyes to maintain attitude . Fifteen minutes later Faith 7 landed just four miles (6 km) from

4161-535: The spacecraft window he viewed the zodiacal light and night airglow layer. He took pictures of these two "dim light" phenomena from Zanzibar , across the Earth's nightside, to Canton Island . The pictures were later found to have been overexposed, but they still contained valuable data. Cooper obtained photographs of North Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and eastern India, Burma, and the Himalaya region, as well as

4234-452: The spacecraft. This experiment was designed to test his ability to spot and track a flashing beacon in orbit. At T+3 hours 25 minutes, Cooper flipped the switch and heard and felt the beacon detach from the spacecraft. He tried to see the flashing light in the approaching dusk and on the nightside pass, but failed to do so. On the fourth orbit, he did spot the beacon and saw it pulsing. Cooper reported to Scott Carpenter on Kauai , Hawaii , "I

4307-568: The start of the 17th orbit while crossing Cape Canaveral , Florida , Cooper transmitted slow scan black and white television pictures to Mercury Control . The picture showed a ghostly image of the astronaut. In the murky picture, a helmet and hoses could be seen. It was the first time an American astronaut had sent back television images from space. On the 17th and 18th orbits, Cooper took infrared weather photos and moonset Earth-limb pictures. He also resumed Geiger counter measurements of radiation. He sang during orbits 18 and 19, and marveled at

4380-453: The thrust section. The upgraded MA-2 engines featured baffled injector heads and a hypergolic igniter, eliminating any concerns of rough combustion or the need for hold-down time prior to liftoff. As such, the RCC (Rough Combustion Cutoff) sensors on 130D were operated open loop and for qualitative purposes only. The propellant conserved by not performing the three second hold-down time would allow

4453-450: The water momentarily, then righted itself. Helicopters dropped rescue swimmers and relayed Cooper's request of an Air Force officer for permission to be hoisted aboard the Navy's carrier. Permission was granted. Forty minutes later the explosive hatch blew open on the deck of Kearsarge . Cooper stepped out of Faith 7 to a warm greeting. Postflight medical examination of Cooper found that he

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4526-492: Was "go for seven orbits." Atlas performance was overall excellent. The upgraded propulsion system worked well, with slightly above nominal booster engine thrust. Measurable propellant slosh occurred from T+55 to T+120 seconds, caused by slightly lower than nominal autopilot gains. The flight trajectory was slightly more lofted than nominal due to the DC voltage in the booster electrical system being about 0.7 volts above normal, but this

4599-576: Was chosen to pilot the MA-9 mission and Alan Shepard was picked as backup. On April 22, 1963, Atlas booster 130-D and Mercury spacecraft #20 were stacked on the launch pad at Launch Complex 14. Because MA-9 would orbit over nearly every part of the world from 32.5 degrees north to 32.5 degrees south, a total of 28 ships, 171 aircraft, and 18,000 servicemen were assigned to support the mission. The Atlas booster used for MA-9 sported several technical improvements, most notably an enhanced propulsion system with

4672-400: Was counteracted by the higher than nominal booster engine performance. BECO took place at T+127 seconds, escape tower jettison at T+141 seconds, and SECO at T+301 seconds. At the start of the third orbit, Cooper checked his list of 11 experiments that were on his schedule. His first task was to eject a six-inch (152 mm) diameter sphere, equipped with xenon strobe lights , from the nose of

4745-406: Was given the range call sign 'Victor" and is sometimes seen as Rose Knot Victor , abbreviated as RKV, in range and NASA documents. Rose Knot was one of two ships, the other being Coastal Sentry , assigned to Project Mercury specifically converted to include the tracking equipment and a command transmitter to support human spaceflight as a part of the surface Mercury tracking network. The ship

4818-537: Was modified from the C1-B design for use as troopships by Great Britain under lend-lease called Landing Ship Infantry, Large and they were originally ordered as troopships. These ships were all given two-word names beginning with "Empire", such as SS Empire Spearhead . Empire Broadsword was lost at the Normandy Invasion , to a mine. Empire Javelin was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on 28 December 1944. The original Cape names are what

4891-432: Was not able to properly prepare freeze-dried food packages, so he limited his consumption to cubed food and bite-sized sandwiches. Cooper found the cubed food largely unpalatable, which contributed to his lack of eating. He had no difficulty urinating during the flight and the urine collection system worked well, although transferring urine to storage bags in the cramped capsule proved difficult. Cooper took several naps during

4964-450: Was owned by the U.S. government and operated by government agencies or their agents until sold for non-transportation use 21 June 1977. Rose Knot was placed in operation by the War Shipping Administration for operation by commercial entities under agreement or charter from 5 May 1945 until 11 May 1955. Lykes Brothers operated the ship under a general agency agreement until 22 April 1946 when Alaska Steamship Company began operation under

5037-474: Was reported in The Washington Post that some NASA officials were skeptical of the idea. When Cooper boarded Faith 7 at 6:36 AM on the morning of May 14, he found a little gift that had been left for him. Alan Shepard, knowing that Cooper would have a new version of the urine containment device that Shepard did not have on his Mercury-Redstone 3 flight (forcing him to relieve himself during

5110-473: Was slightly dehydrated and experienced a degree of orthostatic hypotension from being seated in the capsule an entire day, but other than that no significant effects from the flight were noted. After the MA-9 mission, there was another debate about whether to fly one more Mercury flight, Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10). It was proposed as a three-day, 48-orbit mission to be flown by Alan Shepard in October 1963. In

5183-681: Was that C1-A ships were shelter deck ships, while C1-B ships were full scantling ships. The C1-M was the type with the largest production; it was a significant variation from the original C1 design in size, performance and profile; these were shorter, narrower, slower and the superstructure was farther toward the stern. The C-1 (A and B variants) employed two kind of propulsion systems. One group comprising 19 C1-A, 85 C1-B and all 13 C1-S-AY1 used 4,000 hp compound turbines (one high pressure and one low pressure turbine) and turbo-electric generators for auxiliary power. The other group of 46 C1-A and 10 C1-B used two 2,000 hp diesel engines connected to

5256-562: Was usually stationed in the Atlantic but also operated in the Pacific. The ship functioned as a telemetry station located off the coast of Africa at 5N 10W for Mercury-Atlas 6 , the February 20, 1962, mission in which John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. For Gordon Cooper 's May 15–16, 1963, Mercury-Atlas 9 orbital mission, the ship was stationed in the Pacific near Pitcairn Island . For Project Gemini , it served as

5329-436: Was with the little rascal all night." He also spotted the beacon on his fifth and sixth orbits. Also on the sixth orbit, at about T+9 hours, Cooper set up cameras, adjusted the spacecraft attitude and set switches to deploy a tethered balloon from the nose of the spacecraft. It was a 30-inch (762 mm) PET film balloon painted fluorescent orange, inflated with nitrogen and attached to a 100-foot (30 m) nylon line from

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