aurora7

Atlas Collection Image

from SDASM Archives

• Ed Dempsey said:

  This shot, dated one week before MA-7 launch day, shows the artwork of Cece Bibby, an artist employed by Chrysler, who also did the insignia on MA-6 and MA-8. The MA-9 insignia was painted by B. R. Schuster, a McDonnell employee. What I find puzzling is the yellow rig that appears to be load-bearing. The cables are attached at the red clamp ring that marks the spacecraft/adapter separation point. The spacecraft was already mated to the Atlas and I do not understand what purpose such a rig would serve, at this point. UNSUPPORTED WILD GUESS: A safety back up that might prevent launch vehicle damage in the event of a loss of pressure in the Atlas tanks. The booster was often referred to as a "stainless steel balloon" and the Mercury spacecraft weighed around a ton. If the nitrogen pressure in the propellant tank (or tanks) had been lost, the weight would probably have caused the booster to collapse.