Everything you never knew you wanted to know about the Mercury Project
LJ-2
From RixWiki
Description of Mission
From SP-45 Mercury project summary
The Little Joe 2 mission, which was intended to validate the proper operation of the spacecraft for a high altitude abort, was accomplished on December 4, 1959, from the Wallops Station launch site. The abort sequence was initiated at an altitude of almost 100,000 feet and approximated a possible set o abort conditions that could be encountered during a Mercury-Atlas exit flight to orbit. In addition to the first-order objectives, the spacecraft reentry dynamics behavior without a control system was found to be satisfactory. The spacecraft dynamic stability on descent through the atmosphere was found to be as expected. Additional information was obtained on the operation of the Mercury parachute, the Mercury spacecraft flotation characteristics, and the operational requirements of spacecraft recovery by surface vessels. A monkey was a passenger on this mission; both the monkey and the spacecraft were recovered in satisfactory condition at the end of the mission.
