WATCH REPLAY: Ascent Abort-2 Flight Test Launches Successfully From Cape Canaveral

By  //  July 2, 2019

booster lofted the test capsule about six miles into the atmosphere

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: The Ascent Abort-2 flight test of the launch abort system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully lifted off Tuesday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Ascent Abort-2 flight test of the launch abort system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully lifted off Tuesday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The test’s four-hour launch window opened at 7 a.m. and the rocket blasted off into a brilliant blue sky right on time.

The test version of the crew module launched from Space Launch Complex 46.

Space Coast Daily TV coverage began at 6:40 a.m. and can be seen above.

The Ascent Abort-2 flight test of the launch abort system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully lifted off Tuesday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (NASA image)

Ascent Abort-2 will verify Orion’s abort system can pull the crew module away from an emergency during its ascent to space.

During approximately three minutes of flight, a booster lofted the test capsule about six miles into the atmosphere to experience high-stress aerodynamic conditions, at which point the abort sequence will be triggered to carry the crew module a safe distance from the rocket.

This test flight will help ensure the safety of astronauts in the unlikely event an emergency arises as they rocket into space.

Orion is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Space Launch System and Gateway, which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

Through the Artemis program, the next American Moon walkers will depart Earth aboard Orion and begin a new era of exploration.

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