Now that's an emergency exit! Nasa tests Orion capsule's abort system in fiery blast



Catapulting more than a mile into the air in just six seconds, this is the new Orion crew capsule that will whisk future astronauts to safety in cases of emergency.



Nasa was testing the craft's abort system at the White Sands Missile Range in the barren southern New Mexico desert.



This would be activated if there was a problem on the launch pad, such as a fire, or during the climb to orbit.

[caption] An abort motor, powered by three rockets, unleashed a half-million pounds of thrust to lift the spacecraft at a rate of 445mph in the first three seconds. Steering the module on its upward trajectory was a second motor that fired simultaneously with the abort motor, using eight thrusters to produce 7,000 pounds of thrust. The capsule l eft a stream of white smoke as it arched through the sky, watched by hundreds of people who had gathered for the spectacle. After the abort motor burned out, a third motor ignited to separate the module from the abort system before deploying a parachute. Orion wafted back to Earth about a mile north of the launch site. The entire flight lasted two minutes and 15 seconds.

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Nasa administrator Doug Cooke, said: 'This system is much more advanced in capability and technology than any abort system designed in the past.

'Nasa strives to make human spaceflight as safe as possible, and what we learned here today will greatly contribute to that goal.'

The Orion capsule was originally designed to take astronauts back to the moon. But in February, President Barack Obama closed down Nasa's £68billion plans to return to the moon, redirecting the money for new rocket technology research.

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One proposal is to send the capsule to the International Space Station to be used as an escape vehicle, so U.S. astronauts wouldn't have to rely on the Russian Soyuz for an emergency flight home.

Nasa capsule engineer, Jeff Sheehy, said: 'It will transition to some useful purpose.'