NASA Little Joe LJ-1

Name: NASA Little Joe LJ-1
Start: 1959-08-21T12:00:00.000Z
Location: Launch Area 1

Little Joe

Status

Failure

Date

21 AUG 1959

12:00

Launch Provider

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Launch Pad

Launch Area 1

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Mission Overview

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.

Rocket

Little Joe

Mission Type

Test Flight

Orbit

Suborbital

Stages

Livestream

Not available

Rocket Details

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.

Height

17 m