Salvage brought the capsule, Atlas booster engines and LOX vent valve to the surface from the ocean floor.

The engines showed no sign of damage except some deformation from impact with the ocean, but the vent valve and a still-attached segment of piping had noticeable fatigue cracks.

Telemetry indicated that the Atlas functioned normally up to T+58 seconds and there was no sign of any problems up to that point, when a severe axial disturbance was detected.

Approximately one second later, the pressure difference between the RP-1 and LOX tanks dropped to zero followed by loss of engine thrust and telemetry and the appearance of multiple objects on radar.

Capsule data indicated violent movements following the loss of booster telemetry, but the Mercury otherwise continued functioning normally until impact with the ocean at around 220 seconds after launch.

The automatic abort system appeared to have functioned correctly and issued a shutdown command to the Atlas's engines the moment that it detected an abnormal situation.

Convair engineers had argued that including the LES was necessary both from an aerodynamic standpoint and for data-gathering purposes, but Mercury program officials ultimately ruled against it.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.