NASA Little Joe LJ-2

Name: NASA Little Joe LJ-2
Start: 1959-12-04T16:20:00.000Z
Location: Launch Area 1

Little Joe

Status

Success

Date

4 DEC 1959

16:20

Launch Provider

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Launch Pad

Launch Area 1

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Mission Overview

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.

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