Pad abort test
Encyclopedia
A pad abort test is a test of a launch escape system
to determine how well the system could get the crew of a spacecraft
to safety in an emergency on the launch pad
.
The Mercury program
included several pad abort tests for the launch escape system
with a boilerplate crew module.
The Apollo program included several pad abort tests for the launch escape system with a boilerplate crew module.
Both tests were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range
.
The Orion Pad Abort Test will start with the construction of the first Orion Boilerplate. It will be a basic mockup prototype
to test the assembling sequences and launch procedures at NASA’s Langley Research Center
while Lockheed aerospace engineers assemble the first rocket motors for the spacecraft’s escape tower. The first Pad Abort Tests trials of the escape tower system will be at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range
in 2008. Lockheed Martin
Corp. was awarded the contract to build Orion on Aug. 31, 2006.
Launch escape system
A Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency. Since the escape rockets are above the crew module, an LES typically uses separate nozzles which are...
to determine how well the system could get the crew of a spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
to safety in an emergency on the launch pad
Launch pad
A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
.
Project Mercury
Section sources.The Mercury program
Mercury program
Mercury Program might refer to:*the first successful American manned spaceflight program, Project Mercury*an American post-rock band, The Mercury Program...
included several pad abort tests for the launch escape system
Launch escape system
A Launch Escape System is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate the crew module from the rest of the rocket in case of emergency. Since the escape rockets are above the crew module, an LES typically uses separate nozzles which are...
with a boilerplate crew module.
- 1959 July 22 - First successful pad abort flight test with a functional escape tower attached to a Mercury Boilerplate.
- 1959 July 28 - A Mercury Boilerplate with instruments to measure sound pressure levels and vibrations from the Little JoeLittle JoeLittle Joe was an unmanned United States solid-fueled booster rocket used for eight launches from 1959–1960 from Wallops Island, Virginia to test the launch escape system and heat shield for Project Mercury capsules, as well as the name given to the test program using the booster...
test rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
and Grand Central abort rocket/escape tower.
Project Apollo
- Pad Abort Test-1Pad Abort Test-1 (Apollo)Pad Abort Test 1 was the first abort test of the Apollo spacecraft on November 7, 1963.-Objectives:Pad Abort Test 1 was a mission to investigate the effects on the Apollo spacecraft during an abort from the pad. The launch escape system had to be capable of pulling the spacecraft away from a...
was conducted on November 7, 1963, and
- Pad Abort Test-2Pad Abort Test-2 (Apollo)Pad Abort Test 2 was the follow-on second abort test to Pad Abort Test 1 of the Apollo spacecraft.-Objectives:Apollo Pad Abort Test 2 was the fifth of six unmanned Apollo missions that flight tested the capability of the launch escape system to provide for safe recovery of Apollo crews under...
was conducted on June 29, 1965.
Both tests were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
.
Orion
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
to test the assembling sequences and launch procedures at NASA’s Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center is the oldest of NASA's field centers, located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It directly borders Poquoson, Virginia and Langley Air Force Base...
while Lockheed aerospace engineers assemble the first rocket motors for the spacecraft’s escape tower. The first Pad Abort Tests trials of the escape tower system will be at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in 2008. Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
Corp. was awarded the contract to build Orion on Aug. 31, 2006.
See also
- Soyuz T-10-1Soyuz T-10-1-Mission parameters:*Mass: 6850 kg*Perigee: N/A*Apogee: N/A*Inclination: N/A*Period: N/A-Mission highlights:...
, a Soyuz mission which ended with the use of the launch escape system