Oct 4, 2025
Launching of Little Joe 6 (LJ-6) took place at Wallops Island, Virginia. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster. Only the LJ-1A and the LJ-6 used the space metal chevron plates as heat reflector shields, as they kept shattering.
This mission "flew to an apogee of 60 kilometres (37 mi) and a range of 127 kilometres (79 mi). The mission lasted 5 minutes 10 seconds. Maximum speed was 1,375 metres per second (3,075 mph) and acceleration was 5.9 g (58 m/s²). Payload 1,134 kilograms (2,500 lb)."
Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication, page 77, by James Schultz
Date: October 4, 1959
NASA ID: L-1960-00104, LRC-1959-B701_P-05137
