1960-01-21 USA Little Joe 1B (Miss SAM)

A Little Joe 1B ("Miss Sam") launch cover from "Goldcraft", postmarked at Wallops Island with a hand cancel on January 21, 1960.

Little Joe 1B (LJ-1B) was launched from Wallops Island on January 21, 1960, carrying a Mercury boilerplate spacecraft with a female rhesus monkey named Miss Sam aboard. The flight was actually the third attempt to accomplish this particular type of Mercury abort test. Little Joe 1 had suffered a premature escape-tower firing before launch, while Little Joe 1A did not produce sufficient aerodynamic loading to fully meet its objectives. LJ-1B was therefore added to the schedule to obtain the required high-dynamic-pressure abort data.

The mission tested the Mercury Launch Escape System (LES) under conditions simulating an abort near maximum aerodynamic pressure. It also provided an opportunity to study the physiological effects of the rapid acceleration and reverse acceleration associated with an abort. The Mercury helicopter recovery system was tested as well.

After splashdown, a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter recovered the spacecraft and Miss Sam and returned them to Wallops Station. NASA reported that Miss Sam was in good condition and that all test objectives were successfully fulfilled.