Little Joe was a solid-fueled booster rocket utilized by NASA for eight launches between 1959 and 1960 from Wallops Island, Virginia, to test the launch escape system and heat shield for Project Mercury capsules. It also referred to the test program that employed this booster. As the first rocket designed exclusively for crewed spacecraft qualifications, Little Joe was one of the pioneering operational launch vehicles to implement the rocket cluster principle. Its successor, Little Joe II, was used for flight testing of the Apollo launch escape system from 1963 to 1966.
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| Little Joe Booster launch cover with Goldcraft cachet, postmarked Wallops Island, January 18, 1960. |
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| Photo: The design of the Goldcraft cachet may have been inspired by this mock-up of the Project Mercury space capsule, which was used to train astronauts in techniques for exiting the capsule. |
The main goal of this relatively small and straightforward booster system was to reduce costs by enabling multiple test flights to evaluate various solutions to the numerous challenges related to developing crewed space flight, particularly the issue of escaping during or following a launch explosion. Understanding capsule aerodynamics under real reentry conditions was also a significant focus. To achieve this experience quickly, the designers aimed to keep the clustered booster concept simple, utilizing solid fuel and proven equipment whenever feasible, and ensuring it was devoid of any electronic guidance and control systems.
The designers created the Little Joe booster assembly to replicate the performance of the Army's Redstone booster with a capsule payload. In addition to its versatility for various missions, Little Joe could be manufactured for approximately one-fifth of the base cost of the Redstone, with significantly lower operating expenses, and it could be developed and deployed with much less time and effort. Furthermore, unlike larger launch vehicles, Little Joe could be launched from the existing facilities at Wallops Island.
(Reference from
Little Joe (rocket))
