SpaceX Pad Abort Test vehicle poised for May 6, 2015 test flight from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: SpaceX
Posted on 05/05/2015 10:18:59 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The test flight – called the Pad Abort Test – is slated for the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 6, if all goes well. The key facts and a timeline of the test events are outlined herein.
The test vehicle will reach roughly a mile in altitude (5000 feet, 1500 meters) and last only about 90 seconds in duration from beginning to end.
It constitutes a crucial first test of the crew capsule escape system that will save astronauts lives in a split second in the unlikely event of a catastrophic launch pad failure with the Falcon 9 rocket.
The May 6 pad abort test will be performed from the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch pad from a platform at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The test will not include an actual Falcon 9 booster.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
/johnny
A Pad Abort Test is a trial run for a spacecraft’s launch abort system (sometimes called a launch escape system).
Previous launch abort systems have been powered by a rocket tower mounted on top of the spacecraft....SpaceX’s launch abort system, however, is integrated directly into the spacecraft. This means Crew Dragon will have launch escape capability from the launch pad all the way to orbit.
we are looking to demonstrate the overall effectiveness of Crew Dragon’s launch escape system, along with Sequencing, Closed Loop Control, Trajectory Data, External and Internal Environments.
There will be a dummy on board the spacecraft, but despite popular belief, his name is not Buster.
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My summary, more at link
Below is the only pic I could find of the chosen test dummy...
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