I photographed these Mercury Capsule Boilerplate examples at the Hampton Air Park and the Sands Space History Center.
Boilerplates are full-scale replicas used for systems testing and developing procedures to train rescue and recovery teams.
Mercury capsule Boilerplate
Sands Space History Center 2024
Mercury capsule Boilerplate
The lifting ring at the top of this capsule indicates that it was likely used for helicopter recovery training.