Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) was a flight test of the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS). PA-1 was the first test in a sequence of atmospheric flight tests known as Orion Abort Flight Test (AFT). PA-1 tested the basic functionality of the launch abort concept from the pad in its preliminary Orion design configuration. It used the former conformal shape of the LAS adapter. The Flight Test Article (FTA) vehicle differed from production Orion vehicles in a number of ways. For example, the FTA did not have a crew on board, and the avionics were a prototype of what is planned for production Orions. The PA-1 Test took place at the U.S. Army's

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

in New Mexico.

Spacecraft location

The Orion capsule used in the test is on display at the

Virginia Air and Space Center The Virginia Air and Space Science Center is a museum and educational facility in Hampton, Virginia that also serves as the visitors center for NASA's Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. The museum also features an IMAX digit ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

Gallery

File:Orion Abort Flight Test.jpg, Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) stack at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. File:450775main wstf0510e04493 hires.jpg, Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) launched May 6, 2010 at White Sands File:450782main wstf0510e04498 hires.jpg, Parachute descending File:450944main_jsc2010e068745.jpg, PA-1 Crew Module post landing File:20180320 Orion pad abort Virginia Air and Space Center-1.jpg, PA-1 on display at the

References

External links

* Orion Pad Abort 1 Video Highlights at

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

– http://vimeo.com/11631855 {{Orion program Orion (spacecraft) Constellation program missions Test spaceflights 2010 in spaceflight 2010 in New Mexico