Mercury-Atlas 2 (MA-2) was an uncrewed test flight of the Mercury program using the Atlas rocket.

Convair had promised to deliver thicker-skinned Atlas vehicles for subsequent flights, however Missile 67D was the last of the thin-skinned model and so it had to be modified for the Mercury mission, incorporating a stainless steel reinforcing band installed around the vehicle between stations 502 and 510.

The booster's flight path was also modified somewhat from Mercury-Atlas 1, being placed on a more shallow trajectory so as to reduce aerodynamic loads.

The Atlas lifted into a clear blue February sky quite different from the cloudy, foggy weather of the MA-1 flight.

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