National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Ascent Abort-2

Flight Test

PRESS KIT/July 2019

www.nasa.gov
Ascent Abort-2

Flight Test

ASCENT ABORT-2 PRESS KIT JULY 2019 1

Overview

The Orion spacecraft is part of NASA’s backbone for deep 

space exploration that will land the first woman and next man on 

the Moon by 2024, along with Space Launch System rocket and the 

lunar Gateway. Through the Artemis program, the next American 

Moon walkers will depart Earth aboard Orion and begin a new era 

of exploration. 

The Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test will evaluate Orion’s Launch 

Abort System, a rocket-powered tower on top of the crew module 

built to very quickly get astronauts safely away from their launch 

vehicle if there is a problem during ascent to space. The test 

is helping make sure Orion is safe for human missions to deep 

space and can reliably carry astronauts to the Moon and beyond.

During AA-2, a booster will launch from Space Launch Complex 46 

(SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying 

a fully functional Launch Abort System (LAS) and a 22,000-pound 

Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet at Mach 1.15 (over 

1,000 mph). At that point, the abort system’s powerful abort motor 

will fire 400,000 pounds of thrust, propelling the Orion test vehicle 

to a safe distance away from the rocket. The launch abort system 

initiates approximately six miles in altitude at a test condition close 

to the maximum aerodynamic pressure Orion will face on ascent. 

The system’s three motors will work together to pull the crew 

module away from its booster and orient it for splashdown in the 

Atlantic Ocean.
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The abort test booster (ATB) will launch the 

Orion test capsule and launch 

abort system. 

Fifty-five seconds later when the vehicle 

is at 31,000 feet in altitude, the abort 

sequence is initiated.

The abort motor will fire, pulling the 

crew module away from the booster. It 

will gain more than 2 miles in altitude in 

15 seconds.

At 43,000 feet, the attitude control motor 

will activate to orient and flip the capsule 

to safely separate the crew module. 

At 44,000 feet, the jettison motor fires to 

pull the launch abort system tower from 

the crew module, releasing the capsule to 

descend toward the ocean.

During the capsule’s descent, a series 

of 12 data recorders will be jettisoned 

from the capsule that will be recovered 

for analysis.

Flight Test Timeline 

Because the test is designed to evaluate Orion’s launch abort 

capabilities, the crew module used for AA-2 will not deploy 

parachutes after the abort system is jettisoned, nor will it have a 

reaction control system with thrusters needed to help orient the 

capsule for a parachute-assisted descent and splashdown after the 

LAS is jettisoned. Those systems have been rigorously evaluated as 

part of other testing. NASA was able to accelerate the test schedule 

to better inform the Artemis 2 flight and lower costs by simplifying 

the test article and eliminating parachutes and related systems, and 

not recovering the capsule from the ocean.

A total of 890 developmental flight instrumentation measurements 

will be monitored and recorded during AA-2 on the booster, 

separation ring, crew module and LAS. During descent, data from 

the test will be downlinked as well as recorded on board by 12 data 

recorders that will be ejected from the crew module starting 20 

seconds after LAS jettison. Those data recorders will be recovered 

post-test.
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Launch to Abort Sequence Timeline

L-hh:mm:sec Event

Abort Test Booster Flight Test Article

6:00:00 Call to Stations Call to Stations

2:00:00 Conduct Weather Briefing

1:30:00 LC Poll Go for ATB Power 

Up Power down all SSRs

0:18:00

Final FTA Poll

Go/No-Go for Launch

0:16:00 Final ATB Poll Go/No-Go - 

Launch

0:06:30 Final Launch Authorization 

Poll

L+00:00:00 Liftoff

10,000 ft

20,000 ft

“Mach 1.1”

0:00:55 Abort Initiation – 31,000 feet

Abort+00:00:15 Re-orientation – 43,000 feet

0:00:27 LAS Jettison – 44,000 feet
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Vehicle Components

•	 Flight test vehicle: all components including booster, crew 

module and separation ring

•	 Flight test article: launch abort system, separation ring, and 

crew module

•	 Crew module, separation ring and instrumentation, 

built by NASA

•	 Launch abort system, built by Lockheed Martin

o Fairing assembly: Lightweight composite structure 

that protects the capsule from the environment 

around it

o Launch abort tower

	 Abort motor: the primary motor used to 

pull the crew capsule away from danger if 

a problem develops on the launch pad or 

during SLS ascent; manufactured by Northrop 

Grumman.

	 Attitude control motor: used to stabilize the 

crew capsule and steer it to any direction and 

re-orient it for LAS jettison; manufactured by 

Northrop Grumman.

	 Jettison motor: used to pull the LAS away 

from Orion after reorienting the capsule 

during an abort, allowing the parachutes to 

deploy, and also used to jettison the LAS 

during a normal SLS launch when it is no 

longer needed; manufactured by Aerojet 

Rocketdyne.

•	 Abort test booster, a refurbished Peacekeeper ICBM first 

stage SR118 motor manufactured by Northrop Grumman 

and procured through the U.S. Air Force’s Rocket Systems 

Launch Program.

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Key Components of Abort Test Booster

Component Physical Characteristics Function

Rocket Motor Length: 334 inches

Diameter: 92 inches 

Boosts upper 

stages/payload

Igniter Length: 27.25 inches

Diameter 6.2 inches

Pyrotechnic pellets 

which ignite the 

motor propellant

Motor Case Kevlar filament wound 

case hardened with 

epoxy

Forms the pressure 

vessel container for 

the solid propellant 

and also as an 

attachment point for 

components

Nozzle Length: 71.88 inches

Throat diameter: 

15 inches

Expansion Ratio: 16:1

Exhausts propellant 

gasses and steers 

the booster through 

initial phase of flight

The booster for this test was procured by the U.S. Air Force Space 

and Missile Systems Center Rocket Systems Launch Program. 

It is a SR118 motor from a Peacekeeper missile modified by 

Northrop Grumman. 
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Key Flight Test Objectives

•	 Demonstrate abort capability at maximum 

aerodynamic pressure.

•	 Determine the stability characteristics and reorientation 

dynamics of the Launch Abort Vehicle while under active 

control of the attitude control motor.

•	 Obtain launch abort system structural loads data, assure 

LAS structural integrity, and obtain interface data for the 

LAS and crew module. 

•	 Demonstrate, gather data from the crew module/service 

module separation mechanism.

•	 Demonstrate and gather data from the crew module and 

LAS separation mechanism. 

•	 Gather information on the launch abort vehicle external 

environment—acoustic, aerodynamic, thermal and 

acceleration.
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Flight Test Personnel

Launch Director: Don Reed, NASA

Launch Vehicle Stage Manager: Rob Douglass, U.S. Air 

Force Rocket Systems Launch Program, Abort Test Booster

Test Director: Jon Olansen, NASA, Flight Test Article

Test Conductor: Jenny Devolites, NASA, Flight Test Article

Launch Conductor: Karl Seelandt, Northrop Grumman 

Innovation Systems, Abort Test Booster

LAUNCH COMMIT CRITERIA MANAGEMENT:

Assistant Launch Director: Gabe Baca, NASA

SEIT Lead: Griff Corpening, NASA

Operations Integration Lead: Joe Voor, NASA

By the Numbers

(All aproximate)

MASS

• AA-2 flight test vehicle at 

launch: 310,000 lbs.

• Flight test article: 46,000 lbs.

• Separation ring: 7,000 lbs.

• Crew module: 22,000 lbs.

• Launch abort system: 17,000 lbs.

• Abort test booster: 264,000 lbs.
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Next Steps for NASA

Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon within five years, 

NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration plans are based on a two-phase 

approach: the first is focused on speed – landing astronauts on the 

Moon by 2024 – while the second will establish a sustained human 

presence on and around the Moon by 2028. NASA will use what 

we learn on the Moon to prepare to send astronauts to Mars. Orion 

is a key piece of NASA’s plans and will provide transportation for 

astronauts on their journey. 

The agency and its partners are hard at work building and outfitting 

the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 and 2 missions. The first 

in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis 1 will be an 

uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space 

exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to 

extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. During this 

flight, the uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch on the most 

powerful rocket in the world and travel thousands of miles beyond 

the Moon, farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever 

flown, over the course of about a three-week mission. Artemis 2 will 

be the first mission with crew in the vicinity of the Moon, and the 

first Artemis mission with a full active launch abort system. During 

Artemis 3, astronauts will land on the surface of the Moon for the 

first time since 1972, enabled by Orion, the Gateway, and a human 

lunar landing system. 
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Orion Multimedia Materials

•	 AA-2 Test Video

•	 AA-2 Media Resource Reel

•	 Launch Abort System Fact Sheet

•	 Orion Latest News

•	 Orion Images

•	 Artemis Latest News
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Public Affairs Contacts

NASA Headquarters

Human Exploration and Operations 

Mission Directorate

Kathryn Hambleton

Kathryn.a.hambleton@nasa.gov, 

202-358-1100

NASA Johnson Space Center

Orion Program

Laura Rochon

Laura.a.rochon@nasa.gov, 281-483-5111

Moon to Mars

Rachel Kraft

Rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov, 281-483-5111

Kennedy Space Center

Orion Program

Brittney Thorpe

Brittney.thorpe@nasa.gov, 321-867-2468

Moon to Mars

Amanda Griffin

Amanda.a.griffin@nasa.gov, 321-867-2468

Langley Research Center

Orion Launch Abort System Space Technology & Exploration

Kristyn Damadeo

Kristyn.damadeo@nasa.gov, 757-864-1090

Lockheed Martin

Gary Napier

Gary.p.napier@lmco.com

Northrop Grumman

Trina Patterson

Trina.patterson@ngc.com

Barry Beneski

barron.beneski@ngc.com

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Mary Engola

Mary.engola@rocket.com

U.S. Air Force

Robert Douglass

Robert.douglass@us.af.mil

Christoper Williams

Christopher.williams.255@us.af.mil