News and Commentary on Space
Well, sort of. It was a test of the boost vehicle and the separation and parachute systems, which all appeared to have worked (as best one can tell from just video). It was not a test of the abort motors.
Nonetheless, I see another LAS architecture trade study in our future…
According to the Wallops twitter feed, MLAS launched this morning.
Can’t find any other information or pictures/video just yet, though.
UPDATE 6/29: evidently it didn’t launch – the twitter feed was for another launch that day, and only appeared to reference MLAS. The launch was delayed again, and according to the Wallops Web Calendar is now scheduled for July 8.
It looks like the flight test of MLAS, Mike Griffin’s other brilliant idea, is back on:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the MLAS test is scheduled June 15 at the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. The launch window extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. EDT.
“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,” NASA said in a statement. “This system was developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system chosen for NASA’s Orion crew capsule.”
It’s amusing that this bad idea will fly (assuming it does) before PA-1, the perpetually-delayed test of an abort system more closely approximating the baseline design.
More on MLAS: Bad Ideas Never Die
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A young girl sets out to prove herself by resolving a long-forgotten mystery. But when she gets close to the truth, what she thought was a harmless adventure becomes a threat to the future of the independent commercial settlements on Mars.
