NASA just pulled off what looked to be a highly successful test of an escape system being developed for the Orion spacecraft and perhaps other human spaceflight systems.The so-called Pad Abort-1 test went off right on time at 9 a.m., propelling a mockup of the Orion crew module to an altitude of more than one mile at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Three escape system motors appeared to perform well. Parachutes deployed and the crew module drifted back to Earth a little more than a mile from the launch site.
"Beautiful flight," a controller said over communications loops.
"Wow," said Orion deputy flight test manager Jay Estes. "That went just like clockwork. That's an amazing test."
11 comments:
great...now put it in mothballs.
one step in a path toward safety for our astronauts, this is progress
What astronauts?
am I the only model rocket geek to find the test manager's last name highly ironic? :-) great news and congrats on the test!
Bill R: I wondered if anyone would notice that....."Estes" is a great name for a guy testing rocket systems....
Is "Estes" Spanish for end of American Space Program ?
Estes! I just started digging out my old rockets I had as a kid to share with my son. Loved those days...mini shuttle...the Mosquito...even had the Saturn V.
I'll bet this could work with the Dragon...
I'll be looking for this on craigslist, I hear another curb alert!!
Dragon would not need an abort rocket even a fourth as large. The only reason the Orion abort rocket is so huge is that Areas uses a 30-year-old solid fuel booster that can't be shut off. This is an incredibly expensive program that serves no useful purpose, and is a waste of our tax dollars.
OBAMA an AS+ wants to kill NASA and all DEFENCE.
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