NASA to test alternate concept for astronaut escape system on June 15
June 5th, 2009 - 11:40 am ICT by ANI ( Leave a comment )Washington, June 5 (ANI): NASA is going to test its alternate concept for astronaut escape system on June 15.
Called the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, the system is scheduled to be tested on June 15 at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The unpiloted test is part of an effort to design a system for safely propelling future spacecraft and crews away from hazards on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit.
This system was developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system chosen for NASA’s Orion crew capsule.
Orion, part of a new spacecraft system being developed by NASA’s Constellation Program, is undergoing design reviews in preparation for flying humans to the International Space Station in 2015 and, later, to the moon.
MLAS is being tested to provide experience in flight testing a spacecraft to NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center, which leads the project from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
The 33-foot-high MLAS vehicle will be launched to an altitude of approximately one mile to simulate an emergency on the launch pad.
A full-scale mockup of the crew module will separate from the launch vehicle and parachute into the Atlantic Ocean. (ANI)
- NASA's Orion 'moon' craft that could put man on asteroid unveiled - Mar 23, 2011
- NASA awards launch services contract for IRIS mission - Jun 09, 2010
- NASA comes a step closer to sending humans to the Moon - Jan 23, 2009
- NASA's Orion spacecraft passes significant design milestone - Sep 02, 2009
- NASA's scientific balloon program resuming flights this month - Dec 16, 2010
- NASA successfully tests first abort motor for Orion spacecraft - Nov 21, 2008
- Fire breaks out on property of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA - Jan 16, 2010
- Inflatable heat shield may protect spacecrafts entering planets' atmospheres - Aug 20, 2009
- Shuttle Endeavour lands safely - Jun 01, 2011
- NASA presents new launch system with eye on Mars - Sep 15, 2011
- Inflatable shells could ensure safe landings for spacecrafts on Mars - Aug 12, 2009
- NASA's next generation rocket makes booming debut - Oct 29, 2009
- Boeing teams with Space Adventures for private space flights - Sep 16, 2010
- Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after final mission - Jun 01, 2011
- NASA's one-person plane to revolutionize air travel - Feb 03, 2010
Tags: astronaut, atlantic ocean, constellation, crew module, escape system, flight facility, future spacecraft, hampton virginia, international space station, langley research center, launch pad, launch vehicle, nasa, new spacecraft, orion, parachute, s engineering, safety center, scale mockup, spacecraft system
