Northrop Grumman Tests, Qualifies Orion Launch Abort Motor for Flight in Cold Conditions

December 14, 2018

Courtney E. Howard

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC), NASA, and Lockheed Martin engineers brought the Orion spacecraft one step closer to its first flight atop NASA’s Space Launch System  (SLS), and enabling humans to explore the moon, Mars, and other deep space destinations beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). The team achieved a milestone in the program with a ground firing test of the abort motor  for NASA’s Orion spacecraft  launch abort system (LAS), designed to enhance spaceflight safety  for astronauts, at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah.

Orion’s LAS would safely jettison the spacecraft and crew out of harm’s way in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during initial launch ascent. The abort motor test, Qualification Motor-2, was the culmination of a series of component tests conducted over the past few years in preparation for qualification. Data from the test will confirm the motor can activate within milliseconds and will perform as designed under cold temperatures.

The abort motor, which stands over 17 feet tall and spans three feet in diameter, has a manifold with four exhaust nozzles. With its nozzles pointing skyward, it fired for five seconds; the exhaust plume flames reached approximately 100 feet in height. The high-impulse motor burns three times faster than a typical motor of this size, delivering the thrust needed to pull the crew module to safety. The motor achieved approximately 350,000 pounds of thrust in one eighth of a second, as expected. More analysis will be performed in the coming weeks, but all initial results indicate a successful test.

Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin contracted Northrop Grumman for the launch abort motor. The Orion LAS program is managed out of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. Northrop Grumman produces the abort motor at its Magna, Utah, facility and the attitude control motor at its Elkton, Maryland, facility. The company also manufactures the composite case for the abort motor at its facility in Clearfield, Utah.

“Our astronauts’ safety is our top priority,” says Steve Sara, director, launch abort motor program, Northrop Grumman. “We never expect the launch abort motor to be used, but just like an ejection seat in a fighter pilot's aircraft, if they need it, it needs to work every time.”

Northrop Grumman’s next major abort motor milestones include the Ascent Abort-2 Flight Test (AA-2) set to take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in 2019. Previous large-scale tests of the launch abort motor included a development motor test in 2008, a pad abort test of the complete launch abort system in 2010 and the Qualification Motor-1 static test in 2017.

For the AA-2 flight test, in addition to the launch abort motor Northrop Grumman will also provide the Abort Test Booster (ATB), which will launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft and LAS to on a preplanned trajectory to obtain data to be used for LAS performance assessment. The ATB uses the same rocket motor as the first stage of a Minotaur IV rocket.

Working on aerospace systems and platforms? Wrestling with challenges? Using a novel tool or process, or need one? Have aerospace wisdom or other insights to share for the greater good of the industry? You're invited to get involved with SAE International -- contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and add your voice to the growing body of mobility engineering knowledge.

Courtney E. Howard  is editorial director and content strategist at SAE International, Aerospace Products Group. Contact her by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

---