LJ-5

Overview

Destination: Suborbital
Mission: Test Flight

Suborbital Launch Area 1 Wallops Island, Virginia, USA

Suborbital test flight of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The objective was to test a production Mercury capsule and the launch escape system during an ascent abort at maximum dynamic pressure. Sixteen seconds after liftoff, the escape rocket and the tower jettison rocket both fired prematurely. Furthermore, the booster, capsule, and escape tower failed to separate as intended. The entire stack was destroyed on impact with the Atlantic Ocean.

Little Joe

Family: Little Joe
Configuration:

Little Joe was a solid-fueled booster rocket used by NASA for eight launches from 1959-1960 from Wallops Island, Virginia to test the launch escape system and heat shield for Project Mercury capsules.

Specifications
  • Stages
    1
  • Length
    17.0 m
  • Diameter
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Little Joe
  • Family
    Little Joe
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Little Joe
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Mercury No.3


In-active Human Rated Unmanned Crew Capacity: 1
Destination: Suborbital
Serial Number: 3

Mercury No.3 is the Mercury capsule used for the Little Joe 5 flight.

Mercury Details

North American Aviation

Circle Image
Founded: 1928 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type: Commercial

North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo command and service module, the second stage of the Saturn V rocket, the Space Shuttle orbiter and the B-1 Lancer.

WIKI

Wallops Island, Virginia, USA

Launch Area 1


Falcon 9
In Flight
5 hours, 46 minutes ago
425 Project Flight 1 & rideshare
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Note: Name of payload is provisional. First launch of an ultimately 5 reconnaissance satellites for the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program A…


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
14 hours, 40 minutes ago
Progress MS-25 (86P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 19 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-30
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
6 days, 3 hours ago
Razdan No. 1?
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity and Cosmos series number uncertain. The Razdan satellite is reportedly a new electro-optical reconnaissance satellite desi…


Long March 2D/YZ-3
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
3 x SatNet test satellites
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Officially described as "Satellite-Internet Technology Demonstration Satellite(s)" built by Chinese Academy of Sciences. Probable 3 (?) test satellit…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Starlink Group 6-29
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Chollima-1
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Malligyong-1c
Malligyong-1 Pad - Sohae Satellite Launching Station, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Malligyong-1c (meaning "Telescope-1") is the third attempt by North Korea to launch a satellite officially declared to be for military reconnaissance…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 7-7
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Starship
Partial Failure
1 week, 6 days ago
Integrated Flight Test 2
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Second test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. The booster is expected to separate 170 seconds into flight and return to land approxima…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Starlink Group 6-28
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.