Comment by Suzuran

6 hours ago

There was also a test of the Apollo Launch Escape System wherein an unmanned CSM was launched on a Little Joe rocket with the plan being to manually trigger the LES at a specific point in the flight. The problem was that the roll accelerometer in the Little Joe had been installed backwards, so it quickly developed a substantial roll rate once it left the ground and the resulting centrifugal force acting on the innards of the SM turned them into rapidly escaping outards. This tore the SM skin apart and satisfied the automatic abort conditions for firing the LES. The LES operated as designed, the CM was pulled free of the SM, then went on to become stable and reach successful recovery conditions. The result was determined to be a successful test of the LES and the mission did not need to be reflown.