Engineering:Little Joe 1B

Short description: 1960 launch escape system test in the U.S. Mercury program

Little Joe 1B

Little Joe 1B launches from Wallops Flight Facility on January 21, 1960.
Mission type	Abort test
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	8 minutes, 35 seconds
Distance travelled	19 kilometres (12 mi)
Apogee	14 kilometres (9 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Mercury boilerplate
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass	1,007 kilograms (2,220 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	January 21, 1960, 14:23 (1960-01-21UTC14:23Z) UTC
Rocket	Little Joe
Launch site	Wallops LA-1
End of mission
Landing date	January 21, 1960, 14:31 (1960-01-21UTC14:32Z) UTC
Project Mercury Abort Tests

The Little Joe 1B was a launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft. The mission was launched January 21, 1960, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 1B flew to an apogee of 9.3 statute miles (15.0 km) and a range of 11.7 miles (18.9 km) out to sea. Miss Sam survived the 8 minute 35 second flight in good condition. The spacecraft was recovered by a Marine helicopter and returned to Wallops Island within about 45 minutes. Miss Sam was one of many monkeys used in space travel research.

Gallery

• 

  Miss Sam, the Rhesus Monkey

• 

  Miss Sam, with fiberglass couch, being placed in a container for the Little Joe 1B flight

See also

• Little Joe
• Sam (monkey), NASA Project Mercury rhesus monkey
• Monkeys and apes in space
• List of individual monkeys

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

External links

• NASA Project Mercury Mission LJ-1B at Kennedy Space Science and Technology website
• Wallops Flight Facility at Encyclopedia Astronautica