Little Joe II Qualification Test Vehicle

Little Joe II QTV
Mission type	Test flight
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	~5 min
Distance travelled	14 kilometers (8.7 mi)
Apogee	7.32 kilometers (4.55 mi)
Start of mission
Launch date	August 28, 1963, 16:00:02 UTC
Rocket	Little Joe II
Launch site	White Sands LC-36
End of mission
Landing date	August 28, 1963
	Project Apollo; Abort Tests Pad Abort Test 1 →

QTV (Qualification Test Vehicle) was the first test flight of the Apollo Little Joe II rocket. It was launched in August 1963.

Objectives

The Little Joe II Qualification Test Vehicle was launched on its first flight from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Area # 3. The mission objectives were to prove the Little Joe II rocket's capability as an Apollo CSM test vehicle and to determine base pressures and heating on the rocket.

Flight

Little Joe II QTV was the first flight of the Little Joe II rockets. It was launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico on August 28, 1963 from Launch Complex 36, Area number 3. The vehicle payload consisted of a simulated command and service module (rather than a boilerplate spacecraft, as used on later test flights) and an inert launch escape system.

Most objectives were achieved. The lone failure was a malfunction in the destruct system.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Little Joe II Qualification Test Flight Report - September 1963 (PDF)

External links

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