The Orion crew vehicle’s abort system has successfully completed Nasa’s pad abort flight test, results from which will further refine design and analysis for future launch abort systems.
The flight was the first fully integrated test of this system design, which features three motors.
During the flight, an abort motor produced a momentary half a million pounds of thrust to propel the crew module away from the pad.
With the motor, the crew module reached a speed of approximately 445mph in the first three seconds, with a maximum velocity of 539mph in its upward trajectory to about 1.2 miles high.
Fired at the same time as the abort motor, the attitude control motor steered the vehicle, keeping it on a controlled flight path and reorienting it as the abort system burned out.
The third, the jettison motor, pulled the entire launch abort system away from the crew module and cleared the way for parachute deployment and landing.
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By GlobalDataThe flight test includes recovering all test articles from the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range where the flight took place and the data gathered will be evaluated.
