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[b]Orion Spacecraft Transfers To Launch Abort System Facility[/b] [i]Orion in Final Integration Steps Before Exploration Flight Test-1[/i] NASA and Lockheed Martin have finished fueling the Orion spacecraft with ammonia, hydrazine and high pressure helium at Kennedy Space Center's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Orion has now been moved to the Launch Abort System Facility for integration with the launch abort system (LAS). [i][b]Above[/b]: On Sunday, September 27, 2014 the Orion spacecraft was transported from the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.[/i] "Once the launch abort system is integrated and functional testing concludes, the spacecraft is considered done," said Michael Hawes Lockheed Martin Orion program manager. "Then in November we'll integrate to the rocket, which is rolling out to the launch pad today." Orion's LAS is a critical launch safety technology designed to immediately pull the capsule and crew out of harm's way in the event of an emergency. The LAS is the highest thrust and acceleration escape system ever created, significantly improving crew safety from pad operations through ascent. It consists of three solid rocket motors: an attitude control motor, which steers the crew away from the launch vehicle, a jettison motor, which pulls the LAS away from the crew module, and an abort motor, which propels the crew module away from the launch pad. During Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) all nominal functions, including separation, will be tested on the LAS, however the abort functions are inactive. The LAS abort functions were previously tested in New Mexico at White Sands Missile Range during Pad Abort Test 1.
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