NASA succesfully tests new rocket launch abort system
The Orion spacecraft is set to be used to return humanity - including the first woman - to the moon by 2024.
Wednesday 3 July 2019 11:21, UK
NASA has successfully tested its new launch abort system - ensuring that astronauts can escape from on top of a rocket if a launch is going wrong.
The Orion spacecraft's abort system needs to be faster than a rocket in flight so it can pull the astronauts to safety, meaning a simple ejector-seat cannot really make the grade.
Planned to carry the first woman to the moon in 2024, the Orion spacecraft will be rocketed off Earth by NASA's new Space Launch System - the most powerful engine the agency has ever used.
NASA laid out plans for the first woman to set foot on the moon by 2024 as part of its Artemis mission, named after the mythological twin sister of Apollo - who provided the first moon missions with their name.
Part of the preparations for the mission was testing the Orion spacecraft's safety features. It travelled to an altitude of almost six miles (9.7km) before the abort sequence was initiated.
NASA stated: "Within milliseconds, the abort motor fired to pull the crew module away from the rocket.
"Its attitude control motor flipped the capsule end-over-end to properly orient it, and then the jettison motor fired, releasing the crew module for splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
"A team is collecting the 12 data recorders that were ejected during the test capsule's descent. Analysis of the information will provide insight into the abort system's performance."
The test comes almost 50 years after the first men Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in July 1969.
In total, just 12 men have landed on the moon over the course of six Apollo missions.
The most recent man to walk the moon was part of the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.