NASA tests Orion launch abort system
Posted: Fri, May 7, 2010, 7:56 AM ET (1156 GMT)
NASA successfully demonstrated on Thursday a launch abort system originally developed for the Orion spacecraft, but whose future use is now uncertain. The Pad Abort 1 flight test took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico at 9 am EDT (1300 GMT) Thursday, when the launch abort system lifted a full-sized Orion spacecraft off a pad and to an altitude of about two kilometers before parachuting back to a soft landing just over a minute and a half later. The system was developed to permit the speedy escape of a crewed Orion spacecraft in the event of problems with its Ares 1 launcher. However, with NASA's proposal to cancel Ares 1 and turn Orion into a a crew return vehicle for the ISS that is launched without a crew, its future appears uncertain. NASA said that the test will "help refine design and analysis for future launch abort systems".
NASA successfully demonstrated on Thursday a launch abort system originally developed for the Orion spacecraft, but whose future use is now uncertain. The Pad Abort 1 flight test took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico at 9 am EDT (1300 GMT) Thursday, when the launch abort system lifted a full-sized Orion spacecraft off a pad and to an altitude of about two kilometers before parachuting back to a soft landing just over a minute and a half later. The system was developed to permit the speedy escape of a crewed Orion spacecraft in the event of problems with its Ares 1 launcher. However, with NASA's proposal to cancel Ares 1 and turn Orion into a a crew return vehicle for the ISS that is launched without a crew, its future appears uncertain. NASA said that the test will "help refine design and analysis for future launch abort systems".
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, February 23
AAC Clyde Space presents INFLECION: Safer Oceans, Smarter Shipping, and Greener Future
AAC Clyde Space — 1:45 pm ET (1845 GMT) European Commission Supports Atmos With €13.1 Million EIC Funding
Atmos Space Cargo — 1:44 pm ET (1844 GMT) Welcoming Head of Product to Dominate Innovation Across Navigation and Autonomy
Advanced Navigation — 1:42 pm ET (1842 GMT) Mystery of 'remarkable' cosmic explosion that lay hidden for years
Royal Astronomical Society — 1:41 pm ET (1841 GMT) DESI Uncovers 300 New Intermediate-Mass Black Holes Plus 2500 New Active Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies
National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory — 1:40 pm ET (1840 GMT) |
