Mercury LJ-2

USA

Orig PL Name: BP
Also called: Little Joe 2

Launch & landing data:

Designation	59 Sub5
Launch date - time	04 Dec 1959
Launch site	Wallops Island
Launch vehicle	Little-Joe-1
Payload	Boilerplate Spacecraft
Mass (kg)	1007 kg
Crew	Monkey Sam
Suborbital flight:
- Apogee	88 km (53 miles)
Distance traveled	312 km (194 miles)
Max Velocity	7187 km/h (4,466 mph)
Max Q	2,150 psf
Max G	14.8 g (145 m/s²)
Landing date - time	04 Dec 1959
Landing location	Atlantic Ocean
Prime recovery ship	USS Borie (DD 704)
Flight Duration (d:hr:min)	11 min, 6 sec
Nbr orbits	0

Mission Objective:

Primate escape at high altitude, test the effectiveness of the escape system and effects on the capsule under conditions of abort when the missile had reached a considerable altitude, and to test the effects of an abort flight on a primate.

Mission details:

The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule. It was the first American animal spaceflight, carrying the Rhesus monkey Sam (Macaca mulatta) close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.
The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. Little Joe 2 flew 55 miles (88 km) into space. It was recovered, with the monkey intact, in the Atlantic Ocean by USS Borie. Sam was one of a series of monkeys in space. Sam, from the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, received his name as an acronym of the facility.
Mission successful. Weightless time 3 min 13 seconds.
The recovery was commanded by CTF 140 in his flagship, USS Norfolk DL 1 at Norfolk, Va. Weather conditions were marginal with winds of 30-35 knots in the recovery area. Due to the rough weather, helos could not be launched. A P2V received SARAH and ECM radiation from the capsule and homed in on it, sighting it 30 minutes after launch time. P2V′s remained on top of the capsule until USS Borie DD 704 arrived and recovered it in very rough seas about 2 hours after launch. Sam was removed from the capsule onboard Borie and found to be in good condition.
The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Little Joe 2 mission is currently displayed at Airpower Park and Museum, Hampton, Virginia.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Wallops Island. Credit: R403

Ref.: #6b, #7, #98, #403 - update: 23.07.19

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