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of which 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) was payload. The structure was also designed for sequential firing with a possible 10-second overlap of four first-stage and three second-stage sustainer motors. Sustainer thrust was provided by Algol solid-propellant motors. The versatility of performance was achieved by varying the number and firing sequence of the primary motors (capability of up to seven) required to perform the mission. Recruit rocket motors were used for booster motors as required to supplement lift-off thrust.
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number and complexity of structural proof tests. Whenever possible, vehicle systems were designed to use readily available off-the-shelf components that had proven reliability from use in other aerospace programs, and this further reduced overall costs by minimizing the amount of qualification testing required.
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BP-12 command module, and performed the first successful abort using a live LES. A third launch on 8 December 1964, using BP-23, tested the effectiveness of the LES when the pressures and stresses on the spacecraft were similar to what they would be during a Saturn IB or Saturn V launch. The fourth
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The vehicle was sized to match the diameter of the Apollo spacecraft service module and to suit the length of the Algol rocket motors. Aerodynamic fins were sized to assure that the vehicle was inherently stable. The structural design was based on a gross weight of 220,000 pounds (100,000 kg),
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A simplified design, tooling, and manufacturing concept was used to limit the number of vehicle components, reduce construction time, and hold vehicle cost to a minimum. Because overall weight was not a limiting factor in the design, over designing of primary structural members greatly reduced the
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did not propagate the initial detonation to the shaped charges on the Algol motor case. The fourth mission (A-003) launch vehicle became uncontrolled about 2.5 seconds after lift-off when an aerodynamic fin moved to a hard over position as the result of an electronic failure. These problems were
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of the Apollo launch escape system was planned to be accomplished at minimum cost early in the program. Since there were no reasonably priced launch vehicles with the payload capability and thrust versatility that could meet the requirements of the planned tests, a contract was awarded for the
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Minor spacecraft design deficiencies in the parachute reefing cutters, the drogue and main parachute deployment mortar mountings, and the command and service module umbilical cutters were found and corrected before the crewed Apollo flights began. However, all command modules flown achieved
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The
Qualification Test Vehicle launch, on 28 August 1963, carried a dummy payload consisting of an aluminum shell in the basic shape of the Apollo command module, with an inert LES attached, and demonstrated the rocket would work for the A-001 launch. This occurred on 13 May 1964, with a
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flight, with BP-22 on 19 May 1965, was designed to test the escape system at a high altitude (although the abort actually occurred at low altitude due to a failure of the Little Joe II booster). The final launch, on 20 January 1966, carried the first production spacecraft, CSM-002.
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tests, was selected as the most suitable for meeting schedule and support requirements. White Sands also allowed land recovery which was less costly and complicated than the water recovery that would have been required at the
Eastern Test Range or at the
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of the detail parts for the first vehicle started in August 1962, and the final factory systems checkout was completed in July 1963. There was an original fixed-fin configuration and a later version using flight controls.
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and camera tracking, command transmission, real-time data displays, photography, telemetry data acquisition, data reduction, and recovery operations.
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satisfactory landing conditions and confirmed that, had they been crewed spacecraft, the crew would have survived the abort conditions.
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The Little Joe II launch vehicle proved to be very acceptable for use in this program. Two difficulties were experienced. The
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Little Joe II test launch vehicle NASA Project Apollo. Volume 2 – Technical summary – May 1966 (PDF)
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Little Joe II test launch vehicle NASA Project Apollo. Volume 1 – Management – May 1966 (PDF)
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development and construction of a specialized launch vehicle. The rocket's predecessor,
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The program was conducted under the direction of the Manned
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were conducted in which the launch escape system was activated at ground level.
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in New Mexico, it was the smallest of four launch rockets used in the
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Little Joe II Qualification Test Flight Report – September 1963 (PDF)
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Four Apollo rocket assemblies, drawn to scale: Little Joe II,
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The program was originally planned to be conducted at the
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Varied; later flights used 2, 4, or 6 sustainer engines.
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used from 1963 to 1966 for five uncrewed tests of the
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Little Joe II flight and capsule launch-escape test.
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corrected and the abort test program was completed.
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Little Joe II Progress Report – December 1964 (PDF)
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1123:NASA TN D-7083: Launch Escape Propulsion Subsystem
1128:Little Joe II @ Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
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1315:Primary guidance, navigation, and control system
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439:a similar rocket designed for the same function
1108:Little Joe II Mission A-003 – April 1965 (PDF)
1012:Varied; later flights had 0, 4, or 5 boosters.
1433:Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment
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546:which used a booster motor developed for the
144:escape system test on the third Little Joe II
427:Apollo spacecraft launch escape system (LES)
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550:, and a sustainer motor developed for the
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116:Learn how and when to remove this message
1413:Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package
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429:, and to verify the performance of the
194:1,032 inches (26.2 m) with payload
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1438:Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites Experiment
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920:Length: 10.1 m without CM/SM/LES
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779:397,000 pounds-force (1,766 kN)
776:314,000 pounds-force (1,395 kN)
773:360,000 pounds-force (1,600 kN)
770:314,000 pounds-force (1,400 kN)
767:314,000 pounds-force (1,400 kN)
19:For the Mercury program flights, see
1485:Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment
1428:Apollo 14 Passive Seismic Experiment
1423:Apollo 12 Passive Seismic Experiment
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337:228,000 pounds-force (1,010 kN)
54:adding citations to reliable sources
25:
1081:The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology
13:
1455:Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment
1443:Solar Wind Spectrometer Experiment
923:Length: 26.2 m with CM/SM/LES
894:New Mexico Museum of Space History
542:Little Joe II was a single-stage,
381:105,100 pounds-force (468 kN)
14:
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1408:Solar Wind Composition Experiment
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329:38,000 pounds-force (170 kN)
1598:Category:Apollo program hardware
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932:Weight: 25,900 to 80,300 kg
739:139,731 pounds (63,381 kg)
736:177,190 pounds (80,372 kg)
491:, Wallops Island, Virginia, and
30:
1226:Launch Vehicle Digital Computer
759:32,445 pounds (14,717 kg)
756:27,836 pounds (12,626 kg)
753:27,692 pounds (12,561 kg)
750:25,336 pounds (11,492 kg)
747:24,224 pounds (10,988 kg)
733:94,331 pounds (42,788 kg)
730:57,940 pounds (26,281 kg)
727:57,170 pounds (25,930 kg)
210:341 inches (8.7 m) at fins
41:needs additional citations for
1516:Lunar Landing Research Vehicle
1396:Lunar Laser Ranging experiment
1366:Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment
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473:spacecraft from 1959 to 1960.
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1475:Cold Cathode Gauge Experiment
1450:Modular Equipment Transporter
1093:Apollo Program Summary Report
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879:113,620 feet (34,630 m)
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433:parachute recovery system in
1575:Rendezvous Docking Simulator
1386:Portable Life Support System
1295:Apollo Abort Guidance System
1045:"Chariots for Apollo, ch4-2"
972:Recruit motor (Thiokol XM19)
867:48,300 feet (14,700 m)
859:74,100 feet (22,600 m)
647:Launch configuration summary
7:
1554:Apollo 11 goodwill messages
960:Weight empty: 1,900 kg
957:Weight full: 10,180 kg
917:Thrust: 49 to 1,766 kN
876:17,999 feet (5,486 m)
870:11,580 feet (3,530 m)
856:19,501 feet (5,944 m)
853:15,364 feet (4,683 m)
850:15,400 feet (4,700 m)
847:27,600 feet (8,400 m)
10:
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1622:NASA space launch vehicles
1521:Mobile quarantine facility
1465:Lunar Surface Magnetometer
873:7,598 feet (2,316 m)
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603:Qualification Test Vehicle
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1470:Lunar Traverse Gravimeter
1418:Active Seismic Experiment
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1310:Lunar Sounder Experiment
1305:Apollo Guidance Computer
1300:Apollo Docking Mechanism
1067:Retrieved: 14 June 2008.
997:
948:Thrust: 465 kN each
896:, Alamogordo, New Mexico
1617:Apollo program hardware
1401:list of retroreflectors
1164:Apollo program hardware
824:Algol sustainer motors
804:Recruit booster motors
544:solid-propellant rocket
528:North American Rockwell
489:Wallops Flight Facility
202:154 inches (3.9 m)
1506:Launch Umbilical Tower
1320:Apollo Telescope Mount
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1261:Apollo service module
1247:Apollo command module
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437:. It was named after
1570:Lunar escape systems
1480:Heat Flow Experiment
1391:Lunar Roving Vehicle
926:Diameter: 3.9 m body
900:Johnson Space Center
512:Johnson Space Center
493:Eglin Air Force Base
157:launch escape system
50:improve this article
1542:Lunar Flag Assembly
1511:Crawler-transporter
1266:Apollo Lunar Module
985:Weight: 159 kg
976:Thrust: 167 kN
556:Scout rocket family
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21:Little Joe (rocket)
1086:2017-12-09 at the
1063:2008-07-25 at the
888:Surviving examples
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526:) and spacecraft (
481:Eastern Test Range
270:Partial failure(s)
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1356:Apollo/Skylab A7L
991:Burn time: 1.53 s
988:Propellant: solid
963:Propellant: solid
935:Propellant: solid
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639:In addition, two
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240:Launch complex 36
178:Country of origin
140:Launch of Apollo
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902:, Houston, Texas
784:Fins controlled
699:20 January 1966
693:8 December 1964
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520:General Dynamics
497:Redstone missile
445:. Launched from
421:was an American
409:edit on Wikidata
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419:Little Joe II
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129:Little Joe II
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67: –
66:
62:
61:Find sources:
55:
51:
45:
44:
39:This article
37:
33:
28:
27:
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1579:
1546:
1537:Lunar plaque
1270:
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696:19 May 1965
690:13 May 1964
684:Launch date
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541:
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485:Cape Kennedy
475:
460:
418:
417:
334:Total thrust
303:No. boosters
278:First flight
236:Launch sites
164:Manufacturer
112:
106:January 2013
103:
93:
86:
79:
72:
60:
48:Please help
43:verification
40:
1581:Moon Museum
1349:Space suits
944:Algol motor
629:boilerplate
567:Fabrication
562:Development
552:Algol stage
358:First stage
286:Last flight
262:Success(es)
1611:Categories
1530:Ceremonial
1361:Beta cloth
1288:components
1286:Spacecraft
1235:Spacecraft
1216:J-2 engine
1211:F-1 engine
1204:components
1031:References
507:facility.
467:Little Joe
462:Man-rating
457:Background
435:abort mode
394:Propellant
363:Powered by
350:Propellant
319:1.5KS35000
311:Powered by
248:New Mexico
76:newspapers
1379:equipment
1188:Saturn IB
844:Altitude
607:primacord
583:Saturn IB
386:Burn time
373:sustainer
371:Algol 1-D
342:Burn time
1253:Columbia
1193:Saturn V
1183:Saturn I
1084:Archived
1061:Archived
744:Payload
719:CSM-002
704:Capsule
587:Saturn V
579:Saturn I
298:Boosters
199:Diameter
150:Function
1563:Related
1242:Apollo
614:Flights
554:of the
524:Convair
471:Mercury
368:Aerojet
345:~1.53 s
321:Recruit
316:Thiokol
231:Retired
159:testing
90:scholar
864:Range
716:BP-22
713:BP-23
710:BP-12
585:, and
538:Design
423:rocket
228:Status
215:Stages
191:Height
154:Apollo
92:
85:
78:
71:
63:
1272:Eagle
998:Notes
707:none
678:A-004
673:A-003
668:A-002
663:A-001
654:Item
532:radar
407:[
397:Solid
389:~40 s
353:Solid
207:Width
142:A-002
97:JSTOR
83:books
799:Yes
796:Yes
793:Yes
502:NASA
186:Size
69:news
790:No
787:No
658:QTV
514:),
483:at
441:in
170:of
52:by
1613::
1017:^
1005:^
839:4
836:6
833:2
830:1
827:1
819:5
816:0
813:4
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807:6
581:,
453:.
366:1
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246:,
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1156:e
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522:/
411:]
306:6
273:1
265:4
257:5
218:1
119:)
113:(
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104:(
94:·
87:·
80:·
73:·
46:.
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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