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NEWS RE LEAS E

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION


400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.
TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3-6925

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY P.M.'s


August 26, 1963

RELEASE NO: 63-193

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

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is


scheduled to flight test the Little Joe II launch vehicle
at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico no earlier
than August 28th.

The test will be the first of a series by NIASA at the


White Sands Range in the development of the Project Apollo
spacecraft. Project Apollo is the NASA program to land
United States astronauts on the moon and return them safely
to Earth before the end of this decade. Project develop-

ment and management is the responsibility of the Manned


Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas.

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Little Joe IT is a launch vehicle designed especially

to simulate flight conditions which would be encountered

during actual ApolJ.o flights. The solid fueled booster was

built to test the structural design and escape system of the


Apollo 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 flight

prior to employing it to test the command module. A dummy

payload simulating the size and weight of the command module

and escape tower will be mounted on the vehicle.

A smaller solid fueled rocket, called Little Joe, was

used 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 will

occur about 66 miles down range from the launch site approxi-

mately 100 seconds after lift-off.

Following a successful flight qualification test, Little

Joe II is scheduled to boost two boilerplate (engineering

models) Apollo and one flight configuration spacecraft for

besting the escape system under maximum aerodynamic pressures

which simulate abort escape conditions during launch of the

Apollo using the Saturn launch vehicle.

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General Flight Plan

The Little Joe II will b launched from the United


States Army White Sands Missile Range Launch Area No.

Three. All seven solid fueled motors will be ignited

simultaneously. The launch elevation will be approxi-

mately 85 degrees from horizontal. Launch direction will


be due north. Wind condition may require some variation

in the setting in order to land in the selected impact zone.

The Recruit motors burn for about two seconds. The


Algol motor burns for about 40 seconds. However, it is
planned to terminate thrust between 30-35 seconds. The
vehicle will pass through high "q" (maximum aerodynamic

pressure area) abort cor~dition approximately 30 seconds

after launch at an altitude of about 24,000 feet.

Approximately 34 seconds after launch the Algol thrust

wi'l be terminated by ground radio command. This signal


will rupture the motor by causing two longitudinal cuts in

the motor case. A few seconds later the vehicle will achieve

a maximum altitude of about 30,000 feet, descend downrange

and impact approximately 66 miles from the launch site.

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After impact the Little Joe II will be removed to

a building at White Sands for postflight analysis.

Little Joe II Launch Vehicle

The configuration for the flight qualification test

consists of the Little Joe II launch vehicle and the dummy

payload simulating the Apollo command module, adapter and

escape tower.

The launch vehicle is 154 inches in diameter and 29

feet 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 the

base of the vehicle. Each fin is 50 square feet in area

with edges swept back 45 degrees.

The propulsion system consists of one Algol motor and

six Recruit motors. The Algol motor producing 103,200

pounds thrust serves as the sustaining motor and provides

the primary source of thrust. The Recruits, each producing

34,460 pounds thrust, serve as short duration-high thrust

booster 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 the

thrust bulkhead of the vehicle afterbody. (The exact

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combination of Algol and. Recruit motors to be used in

futuvle Little Joe II flights depend upon thrust require-

ments for each particular flifrht.) The total thrust can

be altered by varying the combination of engines.

The electrical power supply for the vehicle instru-

mentation system is provided by a manually activated

silver-zinc battery. Prior to launch,povwer is applied to

the vehicle from the blockhouse via the umbilical. Switches,


indicating lights and other electrical devices necessary for

control and regulation of the power system are located in

the control and test consoles in the blockhouse.

Total lift-off weight of the vehicle and payload is

56.500 pounds. Of this total 20,600 pounds is solid pro-

pellant.

The Apollo dummy payload is fabricated of steel. The

adapter is 154 inches in diameter and 167 inches long. The


simulated command module is a truncated cone 126 inches long

and 154 inches in diameter at the base. The dummy escape


tower is 33 feet high.

Total height of the Little Joe II launch vehicle and

payload is 86 feet.

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Launcher

The Little Joe II launcher at the White Sends Missile


Range is a fabricated steel structure. Its components in-
elude a pivot frame mounted on double-flange, crane-type
trucks for rotation to require azimuth positions, a support
platform incorporating pads and pins for vehicle support,
screwjacks for tilting the support platform to required
elevation angles, and a launcher mast.

The mast, attached to the support platforni incorporates


two stabilizing support arms for the vehicle and a support
arm for the payload umbilical harness. Two A-frames are
attached to the pivot frame for support of the platform
hinge points. The launcher is remotely adjlstable for
elevation and azimuth positions.

Meteorological Assistance

Weather conditions during the prelaunch and launch op-


erations phase of the test maust be satisfactory to insure
adequate optical coverage of all phases of the flight. Test
officials will base their launch-weather decisions upon local
conditions of cloud cover, wind, blowing sand and rain. The
Meteorological D3partment of the U.S. Army White Sands Missile
Range will furnish weather data.

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Little Joe II is manufactured by General Dynamics/


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Convair, San Diego, Calif. under contract to NASA.

The solid-propellant Algol motor is manufactured by


Aerojet-General Corp., Sacramento, Calif. Thiokol Chemical
Corp., Elkton, Md. manufactures the Recruit motors.

I
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N EWS R E LEAS E
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
A A 400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D.C.
TELEPHONES: WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3.6925

FOR RELEASE:
NOTE TO EDITORS:

This is to correct a typographical error in the


Little Joe II press kit, NASA Release NO: 63-193 which
was mailed to you for release Monday P.M.'s, August 26.

On page two, fourth paragraph, line 3, please change


to read:
"Impact will occur about 6.6 miles down
range ......
instead of 66 miles.

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