NASA Moves Max Launch Abort System Test To June 25
Posted on: Saturday, 20 June 2009, 10:15 CDT
Because of delays completing preliminary tests at the launch site, NASA has rescheduled the test launch of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, to no earlier than June 25 at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window will extend from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. EDT.
Because of the possibility of further schedule changes, news media representatives should contact Rebecca Powell at 757-824-1139 or Ashley Edwards at 202-358-1756 to confirm the exact date and time of the launch.
The unpiloted test is part of an effort to design a system for safely propelling future spacecraft and crews away from hazards on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit. This system was developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system chosen for NASA's Orion crew capsule.
The 33-foot-high MLAS vehicle will be launched to an altitude of approximately one mile to simulate an emergency on the launch pad. A full-scale mockup of the crew capsule will separate from the launch vehicle and parachute into the Atlantic Ocean.
For more information about MLAS, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/mlas.html
For more information about the Constellation Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
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