Patrick Costello
Launch Escape Assembly
The Launch Escape Assembly sits in front of the Command Module.
The launch escape subsystem will take the command module containing the astronauts away from the launch vehicle in case of an emergency on the pad or shortly after launch. The subsystem carries the CM to a sufficient height and to the side, away from the launch vehicle, so that the earth landing subsystem can operate.
The subsystem looks like a large rocket connected to the command module by a lattice-work tower. It is 33 feet long and weighs about 8,000 pounds. The maximum diameter of the launch escape assembly is four feet.
The forward or rocket section of the subsystem is cylindrical and houses three solid-propellant rocket motors and a ballast compartment topped by a nose cone containing instruments. The tower is made of titanium tubes attached at the top to a structural skirt that covers the rocket exhaust nozzles and at the bottom to the command module by means of an explosive connection.
A boost protective cover is attached to the tower and completely covers the command module. This cover protects the command module from the rocket exhaust and also from the heating generated by launch vehicle boost through the atmosphere. It remains attached to the tower and is carried away when the launch escape assembly is jettisoned.
Launch Escape Assembly
The Launch Escape Assembly sits in front of the Command Module.
The launch escape subsystem will take the command module containing the astronauts away from the launch vehicle in case of an emergency on the pad or shortly after launch. The subsystem carries the CM to a sufficient height and to the side, away from the launch vehicle, so that the earth landing subsystem can operate.
The subsystem looks like a large rocket connected to the command module by a lattice-work tower. It is 33 feet long and weighs about 8,000 pounds. The maximum diameter of the launch escape assembly is four feet.
The forward or rocket section of the subsystem is cylindrical and houses three solid-propellant rocket motors and a ballast compartment topped by a nose cone containing instruments. The tower is made of titanium tubes attached at the top to a structural skirt that covers the rocket exhaust nozzles and at the bottom to the command module by means of an explosive connection.
A boost protective cover is attached to the tower and completely covers the command module. This cover protects the command module from the rocket exhaust and also from the heating generated by launch vehicle boost through the atmosphere. It remains attached to the tower and is carried away when the launch escape assembly is jettisoned.