mission. The U.S. Air Force was already launching Blue Scout rockets from Cape Canaveral and launched this one as well. Mercury-Scout 1 was readied for launch on October 31 from LC-18B. The prelaunch countdown proceeded normally, but the engine failed to ignite. Pad crews checked out and repaired the ignition circuits and the flight was reattempted the next day. Control started failing only seconds after liftoff and at T+28 seconds, the first stage started to disintegrate. Range Safety issued the destruct command at T+43 seconds. The failure was traced to a technician who had accidentally transposed two wiring connectors in the guidance system, causing pitch errors to be interpreted as yaw errors and vice versa. NASA canceled further Mercury-Scout missions. By the time Mercury-Scout 1 was launched, the MA-4 mission had already orbited. MA-5 followed MS-1 by 28 days. MA-4 and MA-5 checked out the Mercury Tracking Network making further Mercury-Scout missions unnecessary. Blue Scout II parameters Total length: 21.65 m Finspan: 2.84 m LEO payload Mass: 30 kg To: 300 km orbit Att: 28.0 degrees Apogee: 2,500 km References Mercury Network Test Vehicle – MNTV-1, Operations Plan July 1961 Project Mercury – Report On Observations of the Mercury Ground Network During The MNTV-1 Network Exercises of July 25–31, 1961 Project Mercury Spacecraft launched in 1961