Pad Abort-1

Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) was a flight test of the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS). PA-1 was the first test in a sequence of atmospheric flight tests known as Orion Abort Flight Test (AFT).

Not to be confused with Pad Abort Test 1, a 1963 Apollo flight.
Pad Abort 1
Launch of the Pad Abort 1 test
Mission typeAbort test
OperatorNASA
Mission duration95 seconds
Distance travelled2.1 kilometers (6,900 ft)
Apogee1.8 kilometers (6,000 ft)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeOrion boilerplate
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 6, 2010, 13:03:00 (2010-05-06UTC13:03Z) UTC
RocketOrion Launch Abort System
Launch siteWhite Sands LC-32E[1]
End of mission
Landing dateMay 6, 2010, 13:04:35 (2010-05-06UTC13:04:36Z) UTC
 

PA-1 tested the basic functionality of the launch abort concept from the pad in its preliminary Orion design configuration. It used the former conformal shape of the LAS adapter. The Flight Test Article (FTA) vehicle differed from production Orion vehicles in a number of ways. For example, the FTA did not have a crew on board, and the avionics were a prototype of what is planned for production Orions.[2]

The PA-1 test took place on May 6, 2010 at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It was also the final flight done under the auspice of the Constellation program before it was cancelled.

Spacecraft location

The Orion capsule used in the test is on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, Virginia.[3]

  • Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) stack at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
    Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) stack at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
  • Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) launched May 6, 2010 at White Sands
    Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) launched May 6, 2010 at White Sands
  • Parachute descending
    Parachute descending
  • PA-1 Crew Module post landing
    PA-1 Crew Module post landing
  • PA-1 on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center
    PA-1 on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. "NASA Building Test Pad at White Sands for New Spacecraft". redOrbit. February 3, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  2. Idicula; et al. "A Flight Dynamics Perspective of the Orion Pad Abort One Flight Test" (PDF). AIAA.
  3. "The Virginia Air and Space Center to Begin Construction on New Gallery, IMAX Theater". Virginia Air and Space Center. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
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