Mercury-Little Joe ( Eng. Mercury-Little Joe ) - part of the first manned program Mercury USA . The goal is to develop and test the Emergency Rescue System (CAC) . Also - the name of the series of spaceships used in this subprogram. A Little Joe-1 launch vehicle was used .
Content
Background
In this subroutine, the Little Joe-1 launch vehicle was used to simply and cheaply test the Emergency Rescue System (CAC) of the Mercury spacecraft. The booster was developed by NASA Langley using existing components. Six or eight solid fuel engines were packaged under an aerodynamic fairing with stabilizers. This group of sergeant rockets provided high initial thrust and acceleration.
The launch was almost vertical and uncontrollable, with the exception of large aerodynamic stabilizers, the rocket was an inexpensive means of testing full-scale models of a spacecraft in the most critical phases of an orbital mission - launch, emergency interruption of flight and rescue at various speeds and at various aerodynamic pressure, deployment of a parachute and landing. Such a vehicle could raise a person in a ballistic capsule to an altitude of 180 km. At the end of February 1959, design work began on an experimental rocket, which then received the code name "High Rise" [1] .
Meanwhile, Faget and Paul Persera brought the idea of the beginning of the year about the sergeant grouped rockets to metal, made the necessary modifications and began testing the resulting launch vehicle. In August, Faget asked William M. Bland Jr. and Ronald Kolenkvich to calculate and issue exact vehicle specifications (dimensions and weights) that could be lifted to a maximum height of 100 miles (180 km). Almost a year passed before the experimental rocket and capsule were ready. When this was done, the former "High Ride" was renamed "Little Joe" [1] .
Emergency Rescue System (CAC)
This is an on-board system for saving the crew of a spacecraft in the event of an emergency on a launch vehicle (LV) [2] . During a regular flight, the SAS is separated from the launch vehicle after launch.
In an accident at high altitudes, the crew can be saved by separating the descent vehicle (or the entire spacecraft) from the launch vehicle, followed by its flight along the descent trajectory and braking in the atmosphere [3] .
It is much more difficult to save the astronauts at the last stages of the prelaunch training, when the personnel have already left the service tower and the rocket is actively preparing for launch. Therefore, exactly 15 minutes before the scheduled start, the CAC propulsion system is alerted. From this moment until it rises to the upper atmosphere, it is capable of tearing the ship and crew away from the emergency rocket at any time, leading it to the side and providing a soft landing [4] .
Features
The emergency rescue system includes [5] :
- CAC automation (automation units, time-program device, power supplies, gyro devices, onboard cable network);
- propulsion system of emergency rescue system (ДУ САС);
- head fairing engines (RDG);
- CAC mechanisms and assemblies placed on the head fairing (trellised stabilizers, lodgements, upper supports, emergency joint mechanisms, fire protection system, optical visor blister separation means).
Starts
| Launch date | Ship name | Weight kg | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 21, 1959 | Little Joe 1 | 1,159.0 | Half an hour before the start, the pyrotechnics brought out the capsule to a height of 600 m. The start did not take place, the launch vehicle was not damaged [1] . |
| October 4, 1959 | Little Joe 6 | 1,134.0 | Suborbital flight |
| November 4, 1959 | Little Joe-1A | 1 007,0 | Suborbital flight, emergency launch |
| December 4, 1959 | Little Joe 2 | 1 007,0 | Suborbital flight |
| January 21, 1960 | Little Joe-1B | 1 007,0 | Suborbital flight |
| May 9, 1960 | Beach abort | 1 007,0 | Suborbital flight. Launch without pH, test CAC. |
| November 8, 1960 | Little Joe 5 | 1,141.0 | Suborbital flight |
| March 18, 1961 | Little Joe 5A | 1,141.0 | Suborbital flight |
| April 28, 1961 | Little Joe 5B | 1,141.0 | Suborbital flight |
Interesting Facts
The CAC propulsion system is not only the most important, but also the most difficult part of the rescue system. It takes away a fair amount of useful payload - about 10% [6] .
See also
- Mercury (space program)
- Gemini (space program)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Little Joe
- ↑ Emergency Rescue System , Great Soviet Encyclopedia .
- ↑ Emergency Rescue System , Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969-1978).
- ↑ Spacecraft , galspace.spb.ru.
- ↑ "11D855M", emergency rescue system , arms-expo.ru. Archived on October 26, 2013.
- ↑ Airplanes and rockets , aeroplan2010.mirtesen.ru.