Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
NASA's powerful Launch Abort System — literally designed to outrun the debris from an exploding rocket and save the lives of astronauts should something go wrong during launch — is the result of years of work from scientists and engineers across the country, including by the agency’s pioneers of extreme flight out in the Mojave Desert.
The Armstrong Flight Research Center helped the agency conduct two essential tests of the abort system ahead of NASA’s return to the moon scheduled for this week: In the first, they fired the system from the ground to emulate an abort on the launch pad, and in the second, they fired it while the capsule raced through the atmosphere on a modified missile to emulate an abort during flight.
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NASA's powerful Launch Abort System — literally designed to outrun the debris from an exploding rocket and save the lives of astronauts should something go wrong during launch — is the result of years of work from scientists and engineers across the country, including by the agency’s pioneers of extreme flight out in the Mojave Desert.
The Armstrong Flight Research Center helped the agency conduct two essential tests of the abort system ahead of NASA’s return to the moon scheduled for this week: In the first, they fired the system from the ground to emulate an abort on the launch pad, and in the second, they fired it while the capsule raced through the atmosphere on a modified missile to emulate an abort during flight.
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youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=losangelestimes
latimes.com/subscription
LET’S CONNECT:
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Twitter ► twitter.com/LATimes
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