Project Blue Book desk file, Socorro (217 pages)

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.;,iF • wHITE SA NOS MISSILE RANGE_, N. M. J MAY CAP> -A St.COND ATTEMPT ijTI LL
BE MADE TODAY TO FIRE A LITTLE JOE li CKET IN A TEST OF THE APOLLO
M:>O NF LIGHT . ESC APE SYSTE:-1.
• . THE SHOT tJAS POSTPONED YESTERDAY BECAUSE OF GUSTY vJlNDS AND A DESERT
SANDSTORM.
THE LITTLE JOE IS EXPECTED TO HURL THE SIMULATED APOLLO SPACECRAFT
TO 22 000 FEET AT 6 A.M. (MST>.
A ~ESTRUCT SIGNAL VILL DESTROY THE MISSILE AND FIRE THE ESCAPE
SYSTEM. IT WILL ~EPARATE THE COM:1AND MODULE AND PROPEL IT A SAFE
DISTANCE t•JHERE FOUR PARACHUTES WILL BE DEPLOYED TO LOWER TH_E CRAFT TO
EARTH. .
THE COMMAND £10DULE IS THE NERVE CENTER FOR THE APOLLO AND WILL
CARRY THE ASTRONAUT-PILOTS.
JF 618ACS
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# · FIRST LEAD LITTLE JOE C270 > ,qv
1
·BY ~~~~~DS~ND~I~i~~fiE RANGE, N.M.J \MaY lJCA?>-THE FIERY EXPLOSION OF
~ LITTLE JOE II ROCKET SHATTERED THE EARLY MORNING CALM TODAY IN A
. TEST OF THE APOLLO t100N SPACECRAFT LAU NCH ESCAPE SYSTEM.
EARLY INDICATIONS FROM NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIALS WERE THAT THE TEST THE FIRST OF FIVE OF THE APOLLO ESCAPE
SYSTEM.l WAS SUCCESSFUL. IT ~AD BEEN DELAYED 24 HOURS BECAUSE OF HINDS P.5
DUST STORM YESTERDAY.
LITTLE JOE II BLASTED INTO THE SKY ABOUT 6 A.M. (~iST> FROM A CLOUD
OF DUST CAUSED BY THE ROCKET'S SEVEN SOLID FUEL ENGINES, GENERATING
MORE THAN 300 000 POUNDS OF THRUST.
CLIMB! NG TO 22 000 FEET ALTITUDE IN ABOUT 30 SECONDS THE 85-FOOT
TALL VEHICLE STACKED t{lTH BOILERPLATE [10DELS OF THE APOLLO COMMAND AND
SERVICE MODULEs, REACHED A MA~IMUM AERODYNAMIC STRESS PERIOD AT THE
TIME OF THE EXPLOSION THAT WAS SET OFF BY GROUND SIGNAL.
AT THE SAME INSTANT 1 EXPLOSIVE BOLTS SEPARATED THE C0t1 ;•1AND MODULE
fROM THE DIS! NTEGRATINt; ROCKET AND THE 155 000-POUND THRUST ESCAPE
ROCKET FIRED, CARRYING THE C0t1MAND MODULE ANOTHER 4,000 FEET HIGHER.
SAFELY AvJAY FROM THE E,\ PLOSI ON, THE COMMAND MODULE 1 WHICH tH LL
CARRY ASTRONAUTS TO THS MOON SEPARATED FROM THE ESCAPE TOWER.
ABOUT 7 1/2 MINUTES AFTER'THE FIRING 1 THE COMMAND MODULE, SUSPENDED
BY PARACHUTES, FLOATED TO THE DESERT FLUOR ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM THE
LAUNCH SITE. ·
A NASA SPOKESMAN SAID THE ONLY APPARENT TROUBLE WAS THAT ONE OF THE
THREE 88-FOOT DIAMETER RING PARACHUTES ATTACHED TO THE COMMAND MODULE .
~~~¥u~~~y ~~~rif~~ ~~~~U5~rf2~~L~F~~~ J~fri ~~5N~~R~bH~ti~ 0
c~t[~ BRING
THE CAPSULE DOWN SAFELY. . .
WATCHING TODAY'S TEST FROM A BLOCKHOUSE NEAR THE LAUNCH SITE
WERE ASTRONAUTS LT. Ct1DR. CHARLES CONRAD 1 LT. CMDR. JA!1ES A. LOVELL,
MAJ. GORDON COOPER, CMDR. ALAN SHEPARD JH., A~~ DONALD SLAYTON.
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