seldon@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Joe Walker) (03/11/88)
When visiting Johnson space center I saw a test vehicle for the Apollo
command and service modules called "Lillte Joe". Does anyone have any data
on the Little Joes and how they were used. What kind of engine did it have?
How many test flights were there?
Thanx
P.S.(we might want to move this to Sci.Space...)
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Joe Walker | The dream is still alive!!
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Dartmouth College | Space Camp -------------->Jun. 1983
H.B. 219, Hanover N.H. 03755 | Space Camp Lev 2 -------->Aug. 1984
E-Mail: | Space Academy ----------->Aug. 1985
BITNET: Seldon@D1.Dartmouth.EDU | Space Academy Lev 2 ----->Aug. 1987
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------mike@ames.arpa (Mike Smithwick) (03/15/88)
In article <8371@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU> seldon@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Joe Walker) writes: > > When visiting Johnson space center I saw a test vehicle for the Apollo >command and service modules called "Lillte Joe". Does anyone have any data >on the Little Joes and how they were used. What kind of engine did it have? >How many test flights were there? > Thanx >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Joe Walker | The dream is still alive!! The Little Joe series of rockets were built to test the launch-escape system (LES) of both the Apollo and Mercury. Little Joe 1 was for the Mercury, and the II for Apollo. They were single stage units, powered by a cluster of several solid rockets. It had enough power to get the spacecraft to an altitude of 40K or 50K feet, which would be followed by the LES firing. I have a number of videotapes at home of notable LJ II launches. On one the vehicle started into an uncontrollable spin, which ripped it apart. The LES functioned automatically as it should and the test was declared a success even though the rocket was destroyed. -- *** mike (Cyberpunk in training) smithwick *** "live long and multi-task" [discalimer : nope, I don't work for NASA, I take full blame for my ideas]
eric@cbmvax.UUCP (Eric Cotton) (03/31/88)
In article <8371@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU> seldon@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Joe Walker) writes: > When visiting Johnson space center I saw a test vehicle for the Apollo >command and service modules called "Lillte Joe". Does anyone have any data >on the Little Joes and how they were used. What kind of engine did it have? >How many test flights were there? While I cannot tell you much about the early Little Joes I can provide some information about the Little Joe II series. For some reason, I find this rocket very interesting. Perhaps its the way it looks like a cross between old and new... Excerpted from _Apollo_Little_Joe_II_ by Centuri Engineering Company, Inc., copyright 1968: The Little Joe II is a solid rocket booster designed and produced by the Convair Division of General Dynamics for the NASA Apollo Program. Its specific purpose was the man-rating of the Apollo Launch Escape System which pulls the three moon-bound astronauts to safety in the event of a catastrophic Saturn V booster failure. Little Joe II uses a cluster of up to seven ALGOL 1D solid propellant motors, which produce a combined total thrust of 860,000 pounds. It is the most powerful all [sic] solid propellant rocket ever flown in the United States [This was written before the advent of the space shuttle!]. All of the unmanned Launch Escape qualification flight tests, using the Little Joe II booster, were conducted at the White Sands Missle Range in New Mexico between August 28, 1963 and January 20, 1966. Following is a summary of the Little Joe II flights: [A boilerplate is an R&D vehicle that simulates a production craft, whereas a spacecraft refers to an actual production model.] QTV - Test Vehicle August 28, 1963 o dummy Launch Escape System (LES) o dummy Command & Service Modules o Booster: Cluster of seven motors: a center ALGOL surrounded by six Recruits o Liftoff Weight: 57,165 lbs. o Abort Altitude: No abort capability o Test Objective: Check out the Little Joe II booster, not the LES Boilerplate - 12 May 13, 1964 o live LES o boilerplate Command Module (CM) o Booster: One ALGOL motor, six Recruits o Liftoff Weight: 57,930 lbs. o Abort Altitude: 19,400 ft. o Test Objective: Transonic buffeting abort Boilerplate - 23 December 8, 1964 o live LES o boilerplate Command Module (CM) o Booster: Two ALGOL motors, four Recruit motors o Liftoff Weight: 94,331 lbs. o Abort Altitude: 32,000 ft. o Test Objective: Maximum aerodynamic pressure abort Boilerplate - 22 May 19, 1965 o live LES o boilerplate Command Module (CM) o Booster: Six ALGOL motors o Liftoff Weight: 177,189 lbs. o Abort Altitude: 12,400 ft. (111,200 intended) o Test Objective: High altitude abort Spacecraft - 002 January 20, 1966 o live LES o actual production CM and SM o Booster: Four ALGOL motors, five Recruit motors o Liftoff Weight: 139,731 lbs. o Abort Altitude: 61,000 ft. o Test Objective: Power-on tumbling abort For further information, drop me some e-mail. -- Eric Cotton Commodore-Amiga *======================================================================* *===== UUCP: {rutgers|ihnp4|allegra}!cbmvax!eric =====* *===== FONE: (215) 431-9100 =====* *===== MAIL: 1200 Wilson Drive / West Chester, PA 19380 =====* *===== PAUL: "I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." =====* *======================================================================*
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (04/01/88)
As I recall, there was at least one serious failure of the Little Joe II --
but the test was declared a success because the escape system functioned
properly and got the Apollo away from the unintended mess!
--
"Noalias must go. This is | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
non-negotiable." --DMR | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henrymike@ames.arpa (Mike Smithwick) (04/03/88)
In article <1988Mar31.192910.406@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >As I recall, there was at least one serious failure of the Little Joe II -- >but the test was declared a success because the escape system functioned >properly and got the Apollo away from the unintended mess! >-- There were 5 LJ-II missions. The first was a short test of the actual vehicle, followed by 4 operational flights. You're thinking of the third mission, A-003. This was supposed to test the LES at the high altitude region of the S-IB and S-V launch trajectories, in the 120,000 foot area. At 2.6 seconds into the flight, one of the elevons went whacko, putting the rocket into a very high spin rate, which reached 335 deg/sec. At T+24.4 seconds it started to break up when the centrifugal accelerations hit 4Gs, since the rocket motors were rated to only 2Gs. The abort took place 2 seconds later when the entire rocket disintegrated at an altitude of about 12,500 feet. Even though the launch was a flop, 9 out of the 10 tests were fulfilled, so the flight was called a success. The other missions also involved vehicle destruction, but as a part of the actual test. The films of these things are pretty spectacular. -- *** mike (Cyberpunk in training) smithwick *** "After all, isn't our only real purpose in life merely to make the person next to us slightly more insane than we are?" - Me [disclaimer : nope, I don't work for NASA, I take full blame for my ideas]