1963: The first test of the Apollo program began with the launching of the General Dynamics/Convair Little Joe II rocket at White Sands Missile Range. Little Joe II was an American rocket used from 1963 to 1966 for five uncrewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft launch escape system (LES), and to verify the performance of the command module parachute recovery system in abort mode. It was named after a similar rocket designed for the same function in Project Mercury. It was the smallest of four launch rockets used in the Apollo program.
