LTA-10R

Apollo Lunar Test Article

Mission Profile

LTA-10R (Apollo Lunar Test Article 10R) was the primary payload on Apollo 4, the first uncrewed Saturn V test flight on 9 November 1967, serving as a mass simulator for the Lunar Module while the actual LM was not yet available. The article was boosted to high altitude and then the CSM performed a high-speed reentry to test the thermal protection system under near-translunar return conditions. Apollo 4 was an enormously successful all-up test of the complete Saturn V vehicle stack, validating all three stages simultaneously in its first flight. LTA-10R's mass simulator role was essential to keeping the Saturn V test schedule on track during the period when Apollo hardware was still in intensive development.