Starship Asterisk*

NASA's Pad Abort 1 flight test, a launch of the abort system designed for the Orion crew vehicle, lifted off at 7 a.m. MDT Thursday at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) near Las Cruces, N.M. The flight lasted about 135 seconds from launch until the crew module touchdown about a mile north of the launch pad.

The flight was the first fully-integrated test of this launch abort system design. The information gathered from the test will help refine design and analysis for future launch abort systems, resulting in safer and more reliable crew escape capability during rocket launch emergencies.

NASA tested the launch abort system for the Orion crew exploration vehicle for the first time today, with spectacular results.

Regardless of the ultimate fate of Orion -- now at the center of a Washington dispute over the future path of U.S. human spaceflight -- the test produced valuable data that can make future crew capsules much safer.

William Faulkner, a freelance photographer in Las Cruces, N.M., took these shots of the test at nearby White Sands Missile Range for Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Orion Abort Test Photos wrote:
NASA tested the launch abort system for the Orion crew exploration vehicle for the first time today, with spectacular results. Regardless of the ultimate fate of Orion -- now at the center of a Washington dispute over the future path of U.S. human spaceflight -- the test produced valuable data that can make future crew capsules much safer.

Orion Abort Test Photos wrote:
William Faulkner, a freelance photographer in Las Cruces, N.M., took these shots
of the test at nearby White Sands Missile Range for Aviation Week & Space Technology.