Little Joe II

Little Joe II

Launch of Apollo A-002 escape system test on the third Little Joe II
Function	Apollo launch escape system testing
Manufacturer	General Dynamics/Convair
Country of origin	United States
Size
Height	1,032 inches (26.2 m) with payload
Diameter	154 inches (3.9 m)
Width	341 inches (8.7 m) at fins
Stages	1
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Launch complex 36, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
Total launches	5
Successes	4
Partial failures	1
First flight	August 28, 1963
Last flight	January 20, 1966
Boosters
No. boosters	6
Engines	1 Thiokol 1.5KS35000 Recruit
Thrust	38,000 pounds-force (170 kN)
Total thrust	228,000 pounds-force (1,010 kN)
Burn time	~1.53 s
Fuel	Solid
First stage
Engines	1 Aerojet Algol 1-D sustainer
Thrust	105,100 pounds-force (468,000 N)
Burn time	~40 s
Fuel	Solid

Little Joe II was an American rocket used from 1963–66 for five unmanned tests of the Apollo spacecraft Launch Escape System (LES), and to verify the performance of the Command Module parachute recovery system in abort mode. It was named after a similar rocket designed for the same function in Project Mercury. Launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, it was the smallest of four launch rockets used in the Apollo program.

Man-rating 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 development and construction of a specialized launch vehicle. The rocket's predecessor, Little Joe, had been used in testing the launch escape system for the Mercury spacecraft from 1959–60.

The program was originally planned to be conducted at the U.S. Air Force Eastern Test Range at Cape Kennedy, Florida. However, because of a heavy schedule of high-priority launches at that facility, other possible launch sites were evaluated including Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia, and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Launch Complex 36 at White Sands Missile Range, previously used for Redstone missile tests, was ultimately 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 NASA Wallops Island facility.