Testing Orion’s launch-abort system

When the shuttle fails, astronauts are in big trouble. There’s no way to get away from a failing vehicle and safely return to the earth. The shuttle MUST not fail for astronauts to survive.

Earlier escape systems

Apollo was different. Apollo had an abort system that could carry astronauts away from an exploding Saturn rocket…albeit on a very uncomfortable ride. Mercury and Gemini also had escape systems for astronauts. (Gemini had ejection seats, which fortunately, never needed to be used.)

Orion's launch abort system (LAS) leaves Virginia for New Mexico...and testing.

Orion—NASA’s next manned space vehicle, which will replace the shuttle—will also have a launch abort system. And testing is beginning about now. A preliminary version of the system is being tranported to the White Sands Missile range this week, by trailer, for its first test.

Problems are normal..and useful during tests

I know some people will panic if it doesn’t work properly…but that’s what tests are for. Engineers need to test and improve these devices. This IS rocket science, and people who think, say, the Ares booster won’t work because it had a “bad” test…well, those people just don’t get it.

The Saturn V rocket, in an unmanned test, suffered from a “pogo effect”…it lurched like a violent pogo stick, with such severe shaking that it would kill any astronauts riding it. The test successfully identified the problem…which engineers fixed. The rest is history.

Good luck, Orion! I hope this test finds any problems…so they can be fixed!