Space Launch Now - Little Joe

Little Joe

In-active

North American Aviation ()

Aug. 21, 1959

Description

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
―
Variant
―
Alias
―
Full Name
Little Joe

Payload Capacity

Launch Cost
―
Low Earth Orbit
―
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
―
Direct Geostationary
―
Sun-Synchronous Capacity
―

North American Aviation

Commercial

None

1928

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.

Previous Flights

flew on eight previous launch(es).

Little Joe | LJ-5B

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
April 28, 1961, 2:03 p.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

Little Joe 5B was an uncrewed launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the US Mercury program.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-5A

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
March 18, 1961, 4:49 p.m.

Status: Launch was a Partial Failure

Mission:

Uncrewed launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. It was an attempted re-test of the failed Little Joe 5 flight.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-5

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Nov. 8, 1960, 3:18 p.m.

Status: Launch Failure

Mission:

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.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-1B

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Jan. 21, 1960, 2:23 p.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

The Little Joe 1B was a suborbital launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-2

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Dec. 4, 1959, 4:20 p.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

The Little Joe 2 was a suborbital test flight of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-1A

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Nov. 4, 1959, 2:30 p.m.

Status: Launch was a Partial Failure

Mission:

Little Joe 1A (LJ-1A) was an unmanned rocket launched as part of NASA's Mercury program on November 4, 1959. This flight, a repeat of the Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) launch, was to test a launch abort under high aerodynamic load conditions. Due to a delayed in the escape motor startup, the abort maneuver was not accomplished at the desired dynamic pressure, requiring a repeat of the test.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-6

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Oct. 4, 1959, 10 a.m.

Status: Launch was a Partial Failure

Mission:

The Little Joe 6 was a launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program.

Suborbital

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Little Joe | LJ-1

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Aug. 21, 1959, noon

Status: Launch Failure

Mission:

Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) was a failed launch of a Little Joe by NASA, a solid fuel rocket that was designed for a Max Q abort and Launch Escape System test for Mercury capsule. The objective was to determine how well the escape rocket would function under the most severe dynamic loading conditions anticipated during a Mercury-Atlas launching.

Suborbital

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Recent Launches