NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Little Joe 2 was an American rocket used to test components of the Mercury flight systems ahead of the Apollo missions. According to NASA, the missions were primarily sent to test the following: dynamics at high altitudes, the Launch Escape System (LES), the parachute system, and search and retrieval methods.
From 1963 to 1966, five Little Joe 2 vehicles were used in test flights. All of the rockets were launched from White Sands Missile Range, and all of them were successful.
