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Watch: Orion’s Jettison Motor Aces Final Hot-Fire Test in Alabama

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Orion's jettison motor completed its final hot-fire test in Alabama and it's now qualified for NASA missions to the moon. (Photo Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne)

After acing a final round of testing, Orion’s LAS jettison motor is ready for the Artemis II mission.

The jettison motor, which was built by Aerojet Rocketdyne for the Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort System (LAS), was successfully tested at the Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Wednesday, NASA said in a press release. During the final hot fire test, the jettison motor was fired for under two seconds to produce over 40,000 pounds of thrust.

Even though this motor may seem like a small spacecraft part, it’s crucial for mission safety.

If there’s an emergency on the launch pad or during ascent, the LAS will safely lift the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle. It has three solid rocket motors: the abort motor moves the crew module away from the launch vehicle, the attitude control motor steers and positions the capsule, and the jettison motor ignites to separate the LAS from Orion for parachute activation and a safe crew landing.

Unlike other spacecraft components, the jettison motor is the only part of the LAS operated during normal mission situations and it divides from Orion once it’s no longer needed, according to NASA.

NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program aims to land the first woman and the next man on the moon’s surface by 2024. Orion will be important for the program, since it will ferry astronauts to deep space, offer emergency abort for crew members, and support a safe re-entry. Artemis will act as a stepping stone for one of NASA’s other goals, which is to send astronauts to Mars in the future.

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