Little Joe II

QTV

Mission Profile

The Little Joe II was a single-stage solid-propellant test vehicle developed by General Dynamics for NASA's Apollo program, used exclusively to test the Apollo Command Module's Launch Escape System at various altitudes and Mach numbers to verify abort survivability for the crew. Standing 26 m tall with a 2.6 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 18,200 kg, it generated 2,090 kN of thrust from multiple Recruit solid rocket motors. First flown in August 1963 at White Sands Missile Range, the Little Joe II conducted five successful abort system qualification tests, validating the escape system that would protect Apollo astronauts during launch under the Apollo program.