Will it work? The Failure (and Success) of the Little Joe II

When designing a brand-new product or system, an engineer asks (and is asked): "Will it work?"  The performance of the design is a major source of uncertainty, and because mission or commercial success depends upon the answer to this fundamental question, information about the its performance is valuable.  Testing a prototype is a common way to get this information.  If the prototype works, then there is less uncertainty, which makes accepting the design desirable.

During the development of the Apollo spaceflight program, the engineers at NASA and its contractors designed and conducted numerous tests of the many components and systems, especially those critical to the safety of the astronauts.  To test the Launch Escape System (LES), the Convair Division of General Dynamics constructed a 86-foot tall rocket named "Little Joe II" and used it to conduct tests at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico between 1964 and 1966.

During the test A-003 in May, 1965, the Little Joe II rocket broke apart unexpectedly, which triggered the LES, which worked exactly as it was designed to do.  It took the command module (an unmanned boilerplate version) away from the rocket.  After reaching 19,000 feet, the LES and command module separated, and the command module's parachute system lowered it to the ground.  This surprise was extremely valuable because demonstrated that the LES would work, even under extreme conditions.  Although the rocket failed, the test was a success.

For more information, see this section from a NASA publication: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4205/ch4-2.html.  See also a video about the LES and this particular test at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqeJzItldSQ.  The Johnson Space Center and the New Mexico Museum of Space History have examples of the Little Joe II rocket.