Launch Abort System (LAS) Jettison Motor Hot Fire Test

A motor built by Aerojet Rocketdyne for the Launch Abort System (LAS) on NASA’s Orion spacecraft was successfully tested by engineers at the Redstone Test Center on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, October 16. During the third and final hot fire test, the jettison motor was fired for under two seconds in ambient temperatures to produce more than 40,000 pounds of thrust. With the series of static tests completed, Orion’s LAS jettison motor is qualified and ready for flight on the Artemis II mission with astronauts. The LAS -- which will carry astronauts to safety in case of an emergency during launch or ascent -- consists of three motors, with the jettison motor being the last to fire. It ignites to separate the LAS from Orion for parachute deployment and a safe crew landing. The jettison motor also is the only part of the LAS that operates during normal mission scenarios, and detaches from Orion once it is no longer needed. The jettison motor is built by Aerojet Rocketdyne through a contract by NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, Lockheed Martin.