Little Joe II Rocket Assembly & Launches ~ 1966 NASA (Silent)
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Aw, man, you beat me to posting this!
Jeff Quitney posts a LOT of old documentaries on Youtube, many of which are aerospace and military. https://www.youtube.com/user/webdev17
The Little Joe-II is one of my favorite real rockets to build models of. My 5th model rocket, in 1970, was the Centuri 1/100 kit (and still have a battered 1/45 Centuri kit I got in 1975).
Tom Beach and I researched and created data for the Little Joe-II, and a two-part series in American Spacemodeling Magazine in 1992. An expanded version of that is on my website, plus a lot more:https://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeMain.htm
This video came out of the blue! Sure, for YEARS, I thought how great it would be if there was some NASA movie about the Little Joe-II, showing all five flights. But I never thought I'd ever see one. Tom Beach DID get hold of a couple of videos of individual flights, but nothing comprehensive like this!
The movie starts off showing assembly at the Convair plant in California, including the first launcher (of two built), before that launcher (and the Joe) had to be disassembled to be moved to White Sands NM.
The Flights:
QTV - Qualification Test Vehicle (first flight, pre-launch at 7:49 into the video). The Apollo portion was a dummy assembly to simulate the aerodynamics and mass. As this was only a test for the Little Joe-II booster itself (much as the early Saturn-I's flew dummy upper stages). Launched with a center Algol and Six high-thrust Recruit solid motors, as was the second flight.
A-001 with BP-12 (flight #2, 12:06 into the video) - Flew a boilerplate CM (BP-12) to test the escape system when the Joe was intentionally exploded (12:54 into the video). Note the pitch motor firing sideways from the right side of the upper LES during the early part of the LES firing. Interesting that it did not have the deployable canards on the LES, it separated with the CM nose-first. Also Note that the CM was falling nose-first and yanked around when the mains started to deploy (the later canard system oriented the CM heat-shield first). It lost one of three chutes and also one chute was damaged.
A-002 with BP-23 (flight #3, 14:23 into the video) - First Little Joe-II with active steering, elevons on fins and lateral rocket thrusters in housings at base of the fins. Abort at 15:16 into the video (CM and LES veering to the right). At 15:33, the canards on top of the LES nose have stabilized the CM heatshield first, then at 15:41 the Sep motor (two nozzles in a "V") fires to pull the LES away from the CM. Deployment of to drogues, then later good deployment of all three mains.
A-003 -(4th flight, BP-22). The most famous (or infamous) flight. Launched with three Algols, intending to air-start three more as the first three burned out. A Roll gyro was wired up backwards. So as a tiny roll error was detected, the guidance system acted to correct the tiny roll error. But because the roll gyro was backwards, it moved the elevons the opposite way. Which caused the Little Joe to begin to roll the wrong way. And it kept making the problem worse, probably went to full deflection trying to "stop" the roll but made it roll faster and faster. Until it rolled so fast that the centrifugal force was so great that the top ends of the Algol motors ripped out sideways from the Little Joe structure (the base was built more strongly to handle the thrust loads). As the Little Joe-II began to break up, the automatic abort system was triggered by a REAL emergency, and fired the LES (at abut 17:40 into the video). Note that the CM/LES was spinning, AFAIK the LES and recovery sequence was NOT designed to handle that situation ( had a real Saturn begun to roll out of control, the crew would have aborted manually long before it got that bad. The Pitch motor for example didn't pitch it since the roll averaged out its thrust vector. By 18:30, the canards at the LES nose have deployed. But the do not flip the CM/LES around, due to the roll averaging out it's pitch attempts. Note the canard "blobs" alternate being visible or not due to the roll. So when at 18:41 the LES sep motor fires, the CM is pointed nose-first into the airflow. The apex cover of the CM looks like it may have blown back and hit the CM. Fortunately the parachute system worked properly anyway (too bad the camera operator followed the LES and not what the heck was happening with the spinning CM between then and chute deploy). At 19:41 into the video, another camera angle of this flight and breakup. After the breakup, the three first Algols spinning off wildly under thrust (the other three Algols never ignited).
A-004 (5th flight, SC-002). Final flight, first and only to fly a REAL Command Module (SC-002). 21:22 into the video. Launched using a cluster of two Algols and five Recruits, then air-started two more Algols. This is the most frequently modeled version. The purpose of the test was a powered tumbling abort. After the last two Algols were fired (22:08 into the video), and flying at a shallower angle to build up a lot of velocity, the Little Joe's elevons and thrusters worked to pitch the vehicle as mc as possible (I do not recall if it actually tumbled before abort or simply reached a very high angle of attack - most likely the latter). Abort seems to be at 22:50, not a great camera angle. At 23:20, view of jettisoned LES crashing towards the ground.
MORE info on my website: https://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeMain.htm
1979 photo at JSC. I'm at the far right end, Mark Bundick is the one pointing (Ric Gaff photo).
1/39.5 scale model, with pad, at NARAM-34 in 1992
One of the drawings on my website, of A-004
Photo of part of the American Spacemodeling article, with 1/100 model of A-002 and Quest MicroMaxx model.
The real thing, A-004 on the pad.
Jeff Quitney posts a LOT of old documentaries on Youtube, many of which are aerospace and military. https://www.youtube.com/user/webdev17
The Little Joe-II is one of my favorite real rockets to build models of. My 5th model rocket, in 1970, was the Centuri 1/100 kit (and still have a battered 1/45 Centuri kit I got in 1975).
Tom Beach and I researched and created data for the Little Joe-II, and a two-part series in American Spacemodeling Magazine in 1992. An expanded version of that is on my website, plus a lot more:https://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeMain.htm
This video came out of the blue! Sure, for YEARS, I thought how great it would be if there was some NASA movie about the Little Joe-II, showing all five flights. But I never thought I'd ever see one. Tom Beach DID get hold of a couple of videos of individual flights, but nothing comprehensive like this!
The movie starts off showing assembly at the Convair plant in California, including the first launcher (of two built), before that launcher (and the Joe) had to be disassembled to be moved to White Sands NM.
The Flights:
QTV - Qualification Test Vehicle (first flight, pre-launch at 7:49 into the video). The Apollo portion was a dummy assembly to simulate the aerodynamics and mass. As this was only a test for the Little Joe-II booster itself (much as the early Saturn-I's flew dummy upper stages). Launched with a center Algol and Six high-thrust Recruit solid motors, as was the second flight.
A-001 with BP-12 (flight #2, 12:06 into the video) - Flew a boilerplate CM (BP-12) to test the escape system when the Joe was intentionally exploded (12:54 into the video). Note the pitch motor firing sideways from the right side of the upper LES during the early part of the LES firing. Interesting that it did not have the deployable canards on the LES, it separated with the CM nose-first. Also Note that the CM was falling nose-first and yanked around when the mains started to deploy (the later canard system oriented the CM heat-shield first). It lost one of three chutes and also one chute was damaged.
A-002 with BP-23 (flight #3, 14:23 into the video) - First Little Joe-II with active steering, elevons on fins and lateral rocket thrusters in housings at base of the fins. Abort at 15:16 into the video (CM and LES veering to the right). At 15:33, the canards on top of the LES nose have stabilized the CM heatshield first, then at 15:41 the Sep motor (two nozzles in a "V") fires to pull the LES away from the CM. Deployment of to drogues, then later good deployment of all three mains.
A-003 -(4th flight, BP-22). The most famous (or infamous) flight. Launched with three Algols, intending to air-start three more as the first three burned out. A Roll gyro was wired up backwards. So as a tiny roll error was detected, the guidance system acted to correct the tiny roll error. But because the roll gyro was backwards, it moved the elevons the opposite way. Which caused the Little Joe to begin to roll the wrong way. And it kept making the problem worse, probably went to full deflection trying to "stop" the roll but made it roll faster and faster. Until it rolled so fast that the centrifugal force was so great that the top ends of the Algol motors ripped out sideways from the Little Joe structure (the base was built more strongly to handle the thrust loads). As the Little Joe-II began to break up, the automatic abort system was triggered by a REAL emergency, and fired the LES (at abut 17:40 into the video). Note that the CM/LES was spinning, AFAIK the LES and recovery sequence was NOT designed to handle that situation ( had a real Saturn begun to roll out of control, the crew would have aborted manually long before it got that bad. The Pitch motor for example didn't pitch it since the roll averaged out its thrust vector. By 18:30, the canards at the LES nose have deployed. But the do not flip the CM/LES around, due to the roll averaging out it's pitch attempts. Note the canard "blobs" alternate being visible or not due to the roll. So when at 18:41 the LES sep motor fires, the CM is pointed nose-first into the airflow. The apex cover of the CM looks like it may have blown back and hit the CM. Fortunately the parachute system worked properly anyway (too bad the camera operator followed the LES and not what the heck was happening with the spinning CM between then and chute deploy). At 19:41 into the video, another camera angle of this flight and breakup. After the breakup, the three first Algols spinning off wildly under thrust (the other three Algols never ignited).
A-004 (5th flight, SC-002). Final flight, first and only to fly a REAL Command Module (SC-002). 21:22 into the video. Launched using a cluster of two Algols and five Recruits, then air-started two more Algols. This is the most frequently modeled version. The purpose of the test was a powered tumbling abort. After the last two Algols were fired (22:08 into the video), and flying at a shallower angle to build up a lot of velocity, the Little Joe's elevons and thrusters worked to pitch the vehicle as mc as possible (I do not recall if it actually tumbled before abort or simply reached a very high angle of attack - most likely the latter). Abort seems to be at 22:50, not a great camera angle. At 23:20, view of jettisoned LES crashing towards the ground.
MORE info on my website: https://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeMain.htm
1979 photo at JSC. I'm at the far right end, Mark Bundick is the one pointing (Ric Gaff photo).
1/39.5 scale model, with pad, at NARAM-34 in 1992
One of the drawings on my website, of A-004
Photo of part of the American Spacemodeling article, with 1/100 model of A-002 and Quest MicroMaxx model.
The real thing, A-004 on the pad.
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Here's Tom Beach's youtube video of A-004's flight. Two camera angles.
Travisio
Member
Hmm, interesting. I'll be adding this to my YouTube playlist for viewing at a later time.
GuyNoir
Well-Known Member
> 1979 photo at JSC. I'm at the far right end, Mark Bundick is the one
> pointing (Ric Gaff photo).
Our buddy Matt Steele is the guy just to the right of the "Do not climb on display" sign.
> pointing (Ric Gaff photo).
Our buddy Matt Steele is the guy just to the right of the "Do not climb on display" sign.
