Ensuring Astronaut Safety

NASA is developing technologies that will enable humans to explore new destinations in the solar system. America will use the 

Orion spacecraft, launched atop the Space Launch System rocket, to send a new generation of astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit.

To keep astronauts safe during launch in such difficult, yet exciting, missions, NASA and Lockheed Martin collaborated to design 

and build the Launch Abort System.
The Launch Abort System, or LAS, is positioned atop the Orion crew 

module. It is designed to protect astronauts if a problem arises during 

launch by pulling the spacecraft away from a failing rocket. Weighing 

approximately 16,000 pounds, the LAS can activate within milliseconds 

to pull the vehicle to safety and position the module for a safe landing. 

The LAS is comprised of three solid propellant rocket motors: the abort 

motor, an attitude control motor, and a jettison motor. 

• On an abort from the launch pad, the Launch Abort System can activate

within milliseconds to carry the crew to a peak height of approximately

one mile at about 1.5 times the top speed of a drag race car.

• The Launch Abort System’s abort motor generates enough thrust to lift

26 elephants off the ground.

• The Launch Abort System’s abort motor produces the same power as

five and a half F-22 Raptors combined.

• The Ascent Abort 2 flight test occurred at about Mach 1.2 and at speeds

about three times the speed of the fastest sports car.

• The jettison motor can safely pull the Launch Abort System away from

the crew module to a height of 240 Empire State Buildings stacked on

top of each other.
NASA’s Pad Abort-1 flight test was the first fully integrated test of the LAS, which successfully 

launched May 6, 2010, at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New 

Mexico. The flight was the first in a series of in-flight demonstrations of the three solid rocket 

motors and parachute landing system. The test was part of an ongoing mission to develop 

safer vehicles for human spaceflight applications.

In 2014, NASA launched the Orion spacecraft for the first time on Exploration Flight 

Test-1 (EFT-1) – a mission that took Orion farther into space than any spacecraft 

built for humans has gone in more than 40 

years. Because EFT-1 was uncrewed, only 

the jettison motor was active on the LAS, 

but the successful jettison of the system 

was critical to the mission’s success. The 

flight test provided information on the abort 

system’s performance during the spacecraft’s trip to space.
Exploration is critical to human prosperity and progress.

Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our 

place in the universe and the history of our solar system. Through addressing the challenges related to human space exploration we expand technology, create new industries and help foster a peaceful connection with other 

nations. Curiosity and exploration are vital to the human spirit and accepting 

the challenge of going deeper into space will invite the citizens of the world 

today and the generations of tomorrow to join NASA on this exciting journey.

The Ascent Abort-2 test launched an Orion mock-up from Space 

Launch Complex 46 in Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2019. During the test, the 

spacecraft was integrated with an ascent test booster – a first stage booster 

from a Peace-keeper missile modified by Orbital ATK. Ascent Abort-2 tested

the LAS and its three motors. Reaching speeds up to 600 mph, the LAS

demonstrated a successful abort under the highest aerodynamic loads it will 

experience in flight. Aerodynamic forces built as the booster accelerated

through the atmosphere, reaching a maximum when the vehicle reached

speeds up to Mach 1. Then the LAS abort motor ignited, pulling the crew 

module away from the ascent test booster. All three motors were active, 

proving the LAS’s readiness for human flight. This test also assessed the 

capabilities of numerous flight vehicle components, including Orion’s 

avionics, communications, and reaction control system.

First Integrated Test: Artemis I

Artemis I will be the first test of the world’s most powerful rocket, the Space 

Launch System (SLS). During this test, SLS will launch an un-crewed 

Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the 

rocket and spacecraft before a crewed flight. It will venture 40,000 miles 

beyond the moon before returning to Earth. The jettison motor will be the 

only active motor on the LAS.

First Crewed Flight Test: Artemis II

Artemis II will use SLS to launch the first humans aboard Orion to deep 

space. All three motors will be active on the LAS in the unlikely event of an 

emergency.