Little Joe II carried out the first major flight tests of the Apollo program in five unmanned launches at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, testing the command module launch escape system and qualifying it for operational use. Its launches took place on August 28, 1963, May 13, 1964, December 8, 1964, May 19, 1965, and January 20, 1966. In its time it was the most powerful solid rocket launch vehicle in the U.S. inventory, producing a maximum total thrust of 816,200 pounds from seven Aerojet Algol 1D motors, with trajectory controlled by launch angle and guidance provided by aerodynamic fins and reaction jets. The vehicle was designed and manufactured for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by the General Dynamics Convair Division of San Diego, California. The boilerplate 22 command module atop this Little Joe II flew on the fourth flight. Little Joe II was used for Apollo spacecraft transonic and abort testing at White Sands Test Facility during 1964-1966 and marked an important milestone in the lunar landing program. In May 1965, boilerplate command module BP22 and its launch escape system were launched on a high-altitude abort test; twenty-five seconds after liftoff the rocket unexpectedly began to break up and destroyed itself at 14,000 feet, but the launch escape system detected the malfunction, fired, carried the command module to 19,000 feet, and the parachute system lowered it safely to the desert, successfully demonstrating the emergency system meant to pull an Apollo crew to safety from a Saturn launch vehicle failure on the pad or during powered flight.