This film segment opens with a shot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) logo (00:08-00:12) and proceeds to depict the Tularosa basin in south-central New Mexico, host to the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range and facilities for testing the launch escape system of the Apollo command module (00:14-00:30). The narrator of this NASA documentary film piece explains that on May 12, 1964, the site was used for testing the Apollo boiler plate 12, an unmanned test module subjected to harsh conditions, launched and aborted. Otherwise known as Apollo BP-12, High “Q” Abort Test A-001 (00:50), this segment documents and explains the purposes of the test along with details of the testing program. At 01:50, a graphical depiction of the test module and launch process begins, with details about stressors and other factors applied to the unit presented. The origins of the module and test launch are noted to have begun in a facility in Downey, California (02:42-03:45). The 33 foot long launch escape system is highlighted as an important component of the test modules created on this NASA site (03:21). The film segment goes on to describe the fabrication of other unique testing components including the Little Joe II launch vehicle (04:33). Specifications of various vehicle test tools and boiler plate launch components are described throughout this technical and educational video (06:00-09:06). NASA mission control simulation team members are depicted starting at 09:08 as they configure and engage in module tests starting from countdown to abort routines. A live test launch is documented at 10:30 and the film follows its trajectory and damage results throughout the rest of the segment. The safe return of the module is shown and the test is deemed successful (13:35-13:50). The film closes as it began with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration seal.
A-001 was the second abort test of the Apollo spacecraft, he second in the series of tests conducted to demonstrate that the launch escape system could safely remove the command module under critical abort conditions. Unlike Pad Abort Test 1, in which the launch escape system was ignited at ground level, this mission was flown to demonstrate the capability of the escape system to propel the command module safely away from a launch vehicle while in the high-dynamic-pressure (transonic) region of the Saturn trajectory.
The launch vehicle was the second in the series of Little Joe II vehicles, which had been developed to accomplish early and economical testing of the launch escape system. The Little Joe II was propelled by seven solid-propellant rocket motors – one Algol sustainer motor, which provided thrust for about 42 seconds, and six Recruit motors, which burned out approximately 1.5 seconds after ignition. The spacecraft consisted of a launch escape system and a boilerplate command and service module (BP-12).
A boilerplate spacecraft, also known as a mass simulator, is a nonfunctional craft or payload that is used to test various configurations and basic size, load, and handling characteristics of rocket launch vehicles. It is far less expensive to build multiple, full-scale, non-functional boilerplate spacecraft than it is to develop the full system (design, test, redesign, and launch). In this way, boilerplate spacecraft allow components and aspects of cutting-edge aerospace projects to be tested while detailed contracts for the final project are being negotiated. These tests may be used to develop procedures for mating a spacecraft to its launch vehicle, emergency access and egress, maintenance support activities, and various transportation processes.
Boilerplate spacecraft are most commonly used to test crewed spacecraft; for example, in the early 1960s, NASA performed many tests using boilerplate Apollo spacecraft atop Saturn I rockets, and Mercury spacecraft atop Atlas rockets (for example Big Joe 1). The engine-less Space Shuttle Enterprise was used as a boilerplate to test launch stack assembly and transport to the launch pad. The development of NASA’s Project Constellation used boilerplate Orion spacecraft atop an Ares I rocket for initial testing. More recently, on February 6, 2018, SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster was used as a dummy payload on the maiden launch of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
