Little Joe 2

For the Apollo program launch vehicle, see Little Joe II.

The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam (Macaca mulatta) close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.

Little Joe 2

Sam, the rhesus monkey flown aboard Little Joe 2
Mission type	Abort test
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	11 minutes, 6 seconds
Distance travelled	312 kilometres (194 mi)
Apogee	85 kilometres (53 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Mercury boilerplate
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft
Launch mass	1,007 kilograms (2,220 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	December 4, 1959, 16:20 (1959-12-04UTC16:20Z) UTC
Rocket	Little Joe
Launch site	Wallops LA-1
End of mission
Landing date	December 4, 1959, 16:31 (1959-12-04UTC16:32Z) UTC
Project Mercury Abort Tests ← Little Joe 1A Little Joe 1B →

The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. Little Joe 2 flew to an altitude of 55 miles (88 km). It was recovered with the monkey intact and alive in the Atlantic Ocean by the USS Borie. Sam was one of a series of monkeys in space. Sam, from the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, received his name as an acronym of the facility. Sam experienced up to 12Gs and three minutes of weightlessness.^[1] The flight time was 11 minutes, 6 seconds, with a payload of 1,007 kg.

The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Little Joe 2 mission is currently displayed at Airpower Park and Museum, Hampton, Virginia.^[2]

See also

• Little Joe (rocket)
• Miss Sam, NASA Project Mercury rhesus monkey
• Albert II, rhesus monkey who became the first primate and first mammal in space on June 14, 1949
• Splashdown
• List of individual monkeys