A test stand is ready for firing the launch abort system motor that will be mounted on the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the next-generation U.S. space capsule, according to NASA and Alliant Techsystems Inc. [ATK].

The new vertical test stand will be used to test fire the full-scale abort motor for the launch abort system, which will sit atop the Orion crew exploration vehicle.

In event of a crisis threatening the Orion crew, the abort motor attached to the top of the space capsule would fire, as the capsule separated from the Ares rocket beneath it.

Then the abort motor would accelerate the capsule up and away from the rocket. Later, the abort motor would separate from the capsule, and a parachute system would ease the capsule back to Earth.

The abort motor is designed to pull the crew module away from the Ares I rocket in an emergency situation on the launch pad or during the first 300,000 feet after launch.

Instead of being located on the bottom of the abort motor, four exhaust nozzles are located on the sides of the motor, so that the flaming exhaust is directed away from the capsule.

A full scale inert motor, without oxidizer in the propellant, is now secured top end down in the test stand with its nozzles pointing skyward at the ATK facility in Promontory, Utah. Engineers will spend the next few months performing a final checkout.

"We’re breaking new ground with the development of this critical motor, which must have sufficient thrust to leave the vehicle quickly and get the crew to safety," said Ted Kublin, lead engineer for the propulsion abort motor at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The launch abort system is one of the most vital components of the Orion spacecraft, requiring innovative engineering to ensure success."