Everything you never knew you wanted to know about the Mercury Project
LJ-1A
From RixWiki
Little Joe 1A was launched on November 4, 1959, from the Wallops Station launch site, as a repeat of the Little Joe 1 mission. The inflight abort was made, but the first-order test objective was not accomplished because of the slow ignition of the escape rocket motor. This slow ignition delayed spacecraft-launch-vehicle separation until the vehicle had passed through the desired test region. All second-order test objectives were met during the flight and the spacecraft was successfully recovered and returned to the launch site. All other Mercury hardware used in this test, principally the major parts of the escape and landing systems, performed satisfactorily.
