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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.
The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from
The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from Wallops Island
Wallops Island is a island in Accomack County, Virginia, part of the Virginia Barrier Islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America. It is just south of Chincoteague Island, a popular tourist destination.
W ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, 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
Before humans went into space in the 1960s, several other animals were launched into space, including numerous other primates, so that scientists could investigate the biological effects of spaceflight. The United States launched flights contain ...
. 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. 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.
See also
*Little Joe (rocket)
Little Joe was a solid-fueled booster rocket used by NASA for eight launches from 1959 to 1960 from Wallops Island, Virginia to test the launch escape system and heat shield for Project Mercury capsules, as well as the name given to the test pro ...
* Miss Sam
The Little Joe 1B was a launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female rhesus monkey (''Macaca mulatta'') named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft. The mission ...
, NASA Project Mercury rhesus monkey
* Albert II, rhesus monkey who became the first primate and first mammal in space on June 14, 1949
* Splashdown
Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by crewed American space capsules prior to the Space Shuttle program, by SpaceX Dragon and Dragon 2 capsules and by NASA's Orion Multipurpose Crew ...
* List of individual monkeys
This annotated list of individual monkeys includes monkeys who are in some way famous or notable. The list does not include List of notable apes, notable apes, or List of fictional primates, fictional primates.
Monkey actors
* Binx - (white-head ...
References
{{Project Mercury Project Mercury 1959 in spaceflight