Pad Abort 1 Flight Sequence

JSC2009-E-150002 (30 July 2009) --- At the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Orion's Abort Motor was mated to the Adapter Cone Assembly. Other pictures in this series show Orion's jettison motor, built by Aerojet, being mated to the abort motor, built by Alliant Techsystems, or ATK. In addition to the attitude control motor (not pictured), the motors will be used for the first Orion test, called Pad Abort-1, of the launch abort system. The abort system will be capable of pulling the crew module away from the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial ascent phase. The launch abort system is a key element in NASA's continuing efforts to improve safety as the agency develops the next generation of spacecraft to return humans to the moon.