Mercury LJ-1A

Launch & landing data: Designation  59 Sub4 Launch date - time  04 Nov 1959 Launch site  Wallops Island Launch vehicle  Little-Joe-1 Payload  Boilerplate Spacecraft Mass (kg)  1007 kg Suborbital flight:    - Altitude  14.5 km (9 statude miles) Nbr orbits  0 Distance  18.5 km (11.5 statude miles) Max Velocity  3254 km/h (2,022 mph) Max Q  168 psf Max G  16.9 g (166 m/s²) Landing date - time  04 Nov 1959 Landing location   Prime recovery ship  USS Preserver (ARS 8) Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  8 min 11 sec

Mission Objective:

Mission details:

• Little Joe 1A (LJ-1A) was an unmanned rocket launched as part of NASA's Mercury program on November 4, 1959. This flight, a repeat of the Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) launch, was to test a launch abort under high aerodynamic load conditions.
• The launching of LJ-1A "Little Joe" on Nov.4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This is the second attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster, The purpose of the flight was to test the escape system under the maximum dynamic pressure conditions of an Atlas flight or about 1,000 pounds per square foot.
• After lift-off, the pressure sensing system was to indicate when the correct abort dynamic pressure was reached. This should have happened about thirty seconds after launch. A signal was sent to the explosive bolts to separate the spacecraft from the launch vehicle. Up to this point, everything was going as planned. The impulse was also intended to ignite the escape motor. The motor was ignited, but it took a number of seconds to build up thrust, and thus the abort maneuver was not accomplished at the desired dynamic pressure. Because of this, a repeat of the test was planned. Other events from launch through recovery occurred without incident. An altitude of 9 statute miles (14.5 km) and a range of 11.5 statute miles (18.5 km) were obtained, and a speed of 2,021.6 miles per hour (3,254 km/h) was reached. Flight time 8 minutes 11 seconds.
• Subsequent launches were successful and the Little Joe program proved the general concept of the Mercury system to be sound.

Mission Highlights:

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Wallops Island.

External links:

• Collect Space: Cover description