NASA Reschedules Test of Max Launch Abort System for June 25

June 19, 2009

Grey Hautaluoma/Ashley Edwards
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668/1756
,

Keith Henry
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-6120/344-7211


Rebecca Powell
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
757-824-1139


MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-111

NASA RESCHEDULES TEST OF MAX LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM FOR JUNE 25

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Because of delays completing preliminary tests
at the launch site, NASA has rescheduled the test launch of the Max
Launch Abort System, or MLAS, to no earlier than June 25 at the
agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch
window will extend from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. EDT.

Because of the possibility of further schedule changes, news media
representatives should contact Rebecca Powell at 757-824-1139 or
Ashley Edwards at 202-358-1756 to confirm the exact date and time of
the launch.

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.

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 capsule 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 the Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

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