MEDIA ADVISORY
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M09-110
NASA Reschedules Test of Max Launch Abort System to June 22
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Because of weather concerns and launch site preparations, NASA has rescheduled the test flight of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, to no earlier than June 22 at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window Monday extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. EDT. The launch previously had been scheduled for June 20.
The unpiloted test is part of an effort to design a system for safely propelling future spacecraft and crews away from hazards on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit. This system was developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system chosen for NASA's Orion crew capsule. Orion is part of NASA's Constellation Program, which is developing next-generation spacecraft and systems for exploration.
The 33-foot-high MLAS vehicle will be launched to an altitude of approximately one mile to simulate an emergency on the launch pad. A full-scale mockup of the crew module will separate from the launch vehicle and parachute into the Atlantic Ocean.
For more information about MLAS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/mlas.html
For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
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