- Little Joe 5A
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Little Joe 5A Mission insignia
Mission statistics Mission name Little Joe 5A Spacecraft mass 1,141 kilograms (2,520 lb) Crew size 0 Call sign LJ-5A Launch date March 18, 1961
Wallops IslandLanding March 18, 1961 Mission duration 5 min 25 s Number of orbits suborbital Apogee 7.7 miles (12.4 km) Distance traveled 18 miles (29 km) Maximum velocity 1,783 miles per hour (2,869 km/h) Peak acceleration 78 m/s² (8 g) Related missions Previous mission Subsequent mission MA-2 MR-BD Little Joe 5A was an unmanned Launch Escape System test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission used production Mercury spacecraft # 14 atop a Little Joe booster rocket. The mission was launched March 18, 1961, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The Little Joe 5A flew to an apogee of 7.7 miles (12 km) and a range of 18 miles (29 km). The mission lasted 5 minutes 25 seconds. Maximum speed was 1,783 miles per hour (2,869 km/h) and acceleration was 8 G (78 m/s²). Although Mercury spacecraft # 14 was recovered, the mission was considered a partial success because the capsule escape rocket fired without the capsule, as in the previous Little Joe 5 mission. The failure led to the subsequent Little Joe 5B mission.[1]
Mercury spacecraft # 14 used in the Little Joe 5A mission, is currently displayed at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia.[2]
References
- ^ "LJ-5A (14)". NASA Public Affairs Office. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/lj-5a/lj-5a.htm.
- ^ Little Joe 5A in A Field Guide to American Spacecraft
Project Mercury Missions Unmanned: Little Joe 1 · Big Joe 1 · Little Joe 6 · Little Joe 1A · Little Joe 2 · Little Joe 1B · Beach Abort · Mercury-Atlas 1 · Little Joe 5 · Mercury-Redstone 1 · Mercury-Redstone 1A · Mercury-Redstone 2 · Mercury-Atlas 2 · Little Joe 5A · Mercury-Redstone BD · Mercury-Atlas 3 · Little Joe 5B · Mercury-Atlas 4 · Mercury-Scout 1 · Mercury-Atlas 5
Manned: Mercury-Redstone 3 · Mercury-Redstone 4 · Mercury-Atlas 6 · Mercury-Atlas 7 · Mercury-Atlas 8 · Mercury-Atlas 9Subprograms Rockets Categories:- Mercury program
- 1961 in spaceflight
- Rocketry stubs
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