Little Joe II Press Kit

8/8/2019 Little Joe II Press Kit

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NEWS RE LEAS ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3-6925FOR RELEASE: MONDAY P.M.'sAugust 26, 1963

RELEASE NO: 63-193

APOLLO--LITTLE JOE II FLIGHT QUALIFICATION TEST N,1O.Press Kit

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration isscheduled to flight test the Little Joe II launch vehicleat the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico no earlierthan August 28th.

The test will be the first of a series by NIASA at theWhite Sands Range in the development of the Project Apollospacecraft. Project Apollo is the NASA program to landUnited States astronauts on the moon and return them safelyto Earth before the end of this decade. Project develop-ment and management is the responsibility of the MannedSpacecraft Center, Houston, Texas.

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Little Joe IT is a launch vehicle designed especiallyto simulate flight conditions which would be encounteredduring actual ApolJ.o flights. The solid fueled booster wasbuilt to test the structural design and escape system of theApollo command module under maximum aerodynamic conditions.

The purpose of this week's test is to verify the per-formance of the Little Joe II vehicle during powered flightprior to employing it to test the command module. A dummypayload simulating the size and weight of the command moduleand escape tower will be mounted on the vehicle.

A smaller solid fueled rocket, called Little Joe, wasused in a similar fashion to test the Project Mercury space-craft at the NASA Wallops Island, Va., station.

The Little Joe II will be launched on a ballistic tra-jectory with a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet. Impact willoccur about 66 miles down range from the launch site approxi-mately 100 seconds after lift-off.

Following a successful flight qualification test, LittleJoe II is scheduled to boost two boilerplate (engineeringmodels) Apollo and one flight configuration spacecraft forbesting the escape system under maximum aerodynamic pressureswhich simulate abort escape conditions during launch of theApollo using the Saturn launch vehicle.

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-3-General Flight Plan

The Little Joe II will b launched from the UnitedStates Army White Sands Missile Range Launch Area No.Three. All seven solid fueled motors will be ignitedsimultaneously. The launch elevation will be approxi-mately 85 degrees from horizontal. Launch direction willbe due north. Wind condition may require some variationin the setting in order to land in the selected impact zone.

The Recruit motors burn for about two seconds. TheAlgol motor burns for about 40 seconds. However, it isplanned to terminate thrust between 30-35 seconds. Thevehicle will pass through high "q" (maximum aerodynamicpressure area) abort cor~dition approximately 30 secondsafter launch at an altitude of about 24,000 feet.

Approximately 34 seconds after launch the Algol thrustwi'l be terminated by ground radio command. This signalwill rupture the motor by causing two longitudinal cuts inthe motor case. A few seconds later the vehicle will achievea maximum altitude of about 30,000 feet, descend downrangeand impact approximately 66 miles from the launch site.

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After impact the Little Joe II will be removed toa building at White Sands for postflight analysis.

Little Joe II Launch Vehicle

The configuration for the flight qualification testconsists of the Little Joe II launch vehicle and the dummypayload simulating the Apollo command module, adapter andescape tower.

The launch vehicle is 154 inches in diameter and 29feet high. It is made up of two sections. The upper sec-tion (forebody) is 19 feet high, and the lower section(afterbody) is 10 feet high. Four fins are attached at thebase of the vehicle. Each fin is 50 square feet in areawith edges swept back 45 degrees.

The propulsion system consists of one Algol motor andsix Recruit motors. The Algol motor producing 103,200pounds thrust serves as the sustaining motor and providesthe primary source of thrust. The Recruits, each producing34,460 pounds thrust, serve as short duration-high thrustbooster motors to supplement the sustaining motor at launch.The total thrust of the seven motors is 310,000 pounds.These seven motors are bolted to retaining rings in thethrust bulkhead of the vehicle afterbody. (The exact

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combination of Algol and. Recruit motors to be used infutuvle Little Joe II flights depend upon thrust require-ments for each particular flifrht.) The total thrust canbe altered by varying the combination of engines.

The electrical power supply for the vehicle instru-mentation system is provided by a manually activatedsilver-zinc battery. Prior to launch,povwer is applied tothe vehicle from the blockhouse via the umbilical. Switches,indicating lights and other electrical devices necessary forcontrol and regulation of the power system are located inthe control and test consoles in the blockhouse.

Total lift-off weight of the vehicle and payload is56.500 pounds. Of this total 20,600 pounds is solid pro-pellant.

The Apollo dummy payload is fabricated of steel. Theadapter is 154 inches in diameter and 167 inches long. Thesimulated command module is a truncated cone 126 inches longand 154 inches in diameter at the base. The dummy escapetower is 33 feet high.

Total height of the Little Joe II launch vehicle andpayload is 86 feet.

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Launcher

The Little Joe II launcher at the White Sends MissileRange is a fabricated steel structure. Its components in-elude a pivot frame mounted on double-flange, crane-typetrucks for rotation to require azimuth positions, a supportplatform incorporating pads and pins for vehicle support,screwjacks for tilting the support platform to requiredelevation angles, and a launcher mast.

The mast, attached to the support platforni incorporatestwo stabilizing support arms for the vehicle and a supportarm for the payload umbilical harness. Two A-frames areattached to the pivot frame for support of the platformhinge points. The launcher is remotely adjlstable forelevation and azimuth positions.

Meteorological Assistance

Weather conditions during the prelaunch and launch op-erations phase of the test maust be satisfactory to insureadequate optical coverage of all phases of the flight. Testofficials will base their launch-weather decisions upon localconditions of cloud cover, wind, blowing sand and rain. TheMeteorological D3partment of the U.S. Army White Sands MissileRange will furnish weather data.

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Little Joe II is manufactured by General Dynamics/4Convair, San Diego, Calif. under contract to NASA.

The solid-propellant Algol motor is manufactured byAerojet-General Corp., Sacramento, Calif. Thiokol ChemicalCorp., Elkton, Md. manufactures the Recruit motors.

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N EWS R E LEAS ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

A A 400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3.6925FOR RELEASE:

NOTE TO EDITORS:

This is to correct a typographical error in theLittle Joe II press kit, NASA Release NO: 63-193 whichwas mailed to you for release Monday P.M.'s, August 26.

On page two, fourth paragraph, line 3, please changeto read:

"Impact will occur about 6.6 miles downrange ......instead of 66 miles.

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Little Joe II Press Kit

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