MR-1: The Four-Inch Flight 65 years ago today, the first attempt to launch a Mercury capsule on a Redstone rocket (MR-1) took place. Unfortunately, a fault in the ground equipment caused the engines to shut down shortly after firing, lifting the vehicle four inches off the ground before it settled back down on the launch pad. The capsule's escape rocket was activated, causing it to jettison itself and triggering the spacecraft's parachutes to deploy. NASA launched its first astronaut to space ab