SpaceX's Crew Escape System Successfully Tested, Gets NASA's Nod

A new crew escape system developed by SpaceX which was recently tested, could avoid another Challenger tragedy on the launch pad.

The crew escape system involves an astronauts-capsule with eight engines to thrust away from a failed rocket during crucial phase of ascent. During the Challenger space shuttle tragedy which killed seven, the astronauts aboard were known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft but there was no escape, as the capsule could not be separate from the rocket.

SpaceX's escape system was tested at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The capsule's engines fired for six seconds, producing around 15,000 pounds of thrust, lifting off the capsule which then separated from a trunk and deployed parachutes to land over the Atlantic.

The capsule was carrying more than 270 special instruments that measured force and acceleration. A dummy equipped with sensors would tell researchers about impact on human body.

"SpaceX was founded with the goal of carrying people to space, and today's pad abort test represented an important milestone in that effort. Our partnership with NASA has been essential for developing Crew Dragon, a spacecraft that we believe will be the safest ever flown. Today's successful test will provide critical data as we continue toward crewed flights in 2017," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief operating officer.

The system's efficacy would soon be revealed when it is tested with a firing rocket.