These pictures show an igniter for the abort motor of NASA’s Orion spacecraft firing during a test at an Alliant Techsystems facility in Promontory, Utah.

Orion’s launch abort system is designed to pull the crew capsule away from the Ares I rocket during an emergency on the pad or in the first 300,000 feet (91,440 meters) of launch ascent. The Orion spacecraft is slated to replace the shuttle after the latter retires in 2010, but will not launch until 2014.

The igniter produced approximately 21,000 pounds of thrust, and combustion gas temperatures of more than 5,800 degrees Fahrenheit (3,204 degrees Celsius) in less than one second. That power would be used to ignite the solid propellant inside the abort motor during an emergency. The motor would then use its unique reverse flow technology, with four nozzles on its front end, to channel almost a half-million pounds of thrust within milliseconds and pull the Orion crew module clear.

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— NASA/ATK and SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/ATK