NASA Tests Another Astronaut Escape System for Launch Disasters

Using a super computer to determine if this will work or not? That's odd. I'd like to know more of how this works. Will the astronauts need to climb into this capsule when there is danger, or is it all automatic somehow?

http://www.propeller.com/member/suzyjenkins/

NASA should carry out more tests and the supercomputer analyses that showed the launch abort system would work are not enough. They can carry out at the second stage, tests with dummies like in car tests.
Aircraft Electrical Systems Technician
dordor77@netvision.net.il

that is probably a good idea to have an abort system.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHTQMWLn2m0

Just to clarify, MLAS does not require astronauts to climb into a separate capsule. The astronauts would already be sitting inside the Orion crew capsule for launch, and MLAS would simply boost Orion away from danger so that it could parachute down to safety.

suzyjenkins--
I suspect that from your comment, you don't understand how the new Ares launch system works. It won't be like the Space Shuttle that's being retired, where the astronauts are in a large cockpit that is part of the launch system. Ares will be more like the original rockets that we went into space with 50 years ago. The astronauts will be in a much smaller, lighter unit... a capsule... that can be separated from the rest of the vehicle by firing four rockets on the outside edges of the capsule. The astronauts will all be together just a few feet from each other, and when the emergency rockets fire, they'll be blasted to one side, away from the larger units below.

The video shows a series of parachutes that open, dropping the capsule (relatively) gently to a splashdown. At first this puzzled me, but then I realized that there is no way of knowing what kind of emergency they may encounter- perhaps the main rockets will blow up catastrophically all at once, or maybe they will just break apart at first, and explode several seconds later. To increase their likelihood of survival, it appears that they are using a series of parachutes in case debris from an explosion rips one or more of the canopies apart; the more backup chutes they have, the better the odds of survival for the crew.

sweeeet!

I'm impressed.I wanna go on the first manned test flight.Really!!!

billdale: each phase of flight requires parachutes for different reasons. Once the first two rings separate, the "forward assembly" is reoriented using drogue parachutes. This was to ensure the capsule was stable before releasing, to avoid tangling/cutting of parachute lines like in other similar experiments. Once stable, the crew module releases on its own set of drogue chutes which act to slow the crew module slightly and ensure it is again stable. These drogue chutes then pull out the four main chutes. The main chutes are "reefed" which means their lines are tied in slightly, reducing the initial size of the parachutes, so the astronauts dont break their necks! Then the reef is cut, allowing the main chutes to fully open, slowing them down to their final descent rate into the water.

that is probably a good idea to have an abort system.

http://www.dovusvideolari.com/