Atlas LV-3B
Atlas family
· built by National Aeronautics and Space Administration
· maiden flight 1960-07-29
Profile data last updated: 2026-08-29T15:37:07.354998+00:00 | 7531-10-18
The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system used as part of the United States Project Mercury to send astronauts into low Earth orbit. Manufactured by American aircraft manufacturing company Convair, it was derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile, and was a member of the Atlas family of rockets.
Specifications
28.7 mLength
3.0 mDiameter
120 tLaunch mass
1Stages
1300 kNLiftoff thrust
Payload Capacity
1360 kgTo LEO
Lifetime Launch Record
As reported by Launch Library 2 across this rocket's entire history, not just the launches tracked on this site.
10Total launches
7Successful
3Failed
0Upcoming
Launches Tracked on This Site
10In our archive
70.0%Success rate
Sep 09, 1959 08:19 UTCEarliest tracked
May 15, 1963 13:04 UTCMost recent
| Mission | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 9 | May 15, 1963 13:04 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 8 | Oct 03, 1962 12:15 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 7 | May 24, 1962 12:45 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 6 | Feb 20, 1962 14:47 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 5 | Nov 29, 1961 15:07 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 4 | Sep 13, 1961 14:04 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 3 | Apr 25, 1961 16:15 UTC | Failure |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 2 | Feb 21, 1961 14:10 UTC | Success |
| Atlas LV-3B | Mercury-Atlas 1 | Jul 29, 1960 13:13 UTC | Failure |
| Atlas LV-3B | Big Joe 1 | Sep 09, 1959 08:19 UTC | Partial Failure |