Little Joe II

Little Joe II
Launch of Apollo A-002 escape system test on the third Little Joe II
FunctionApollo launch escape system testing
ManufacturerConvair Division of General Dynamics
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height1,032 inches (26.2 m) with payload
Diameter154 inches (3.9 m)
Width341 inches (8.7 m) at fins
Stages1
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesLaunch complex 36, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
Total launches5
Success(es)4
Partial failure(s)1
First flight28 August 1963
Last flight20 January 1966
Boosters
No. boosters6[N 1]
Powered by1 Thiokol 1.5KS35000 Recruit
Maximum thrust38,000 pounds-force (170 kN)
Total thrust228,000 pounds-force (1,010 kN)[N 1]
Burn time~1.53 s
PropellantSolid
First stage
Powered by1 Aerojet Algol 1-D sustainer[N 2]
Maximum thrust105,100 pounds-force (468 kN)[N 2]
Burn time~40 s
PropellantSolid

Little Joe II was an American rocket used from 1963 to 1966 for five uncrewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft launch escape system (LES), and to verify the performance of the command module parachute recovery system in abort mode. It was named after a similar rocket designed for the same function in Project Mercury. Launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, it was the smallest of four launch rockets used in the Apollo program.
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