In many movies and media that depict real-life spacecraft, or near-future spacecraft that are logical progressions of real-life spacecraft, they show the abort handle or button or switch. What would happen in real-life if this handle was pulled during any given moment during space flight; takeoff, orbit, halfway to the moon, etc.?
In: Technology
The abort modes are only used during launch. If there’s an emergency with the spacecraft on the launch pad or in flight that requires the capsule to come back to Earth immediately or if there’s something wrong with the booster, the abort handle or button will fire emergency rockets on the capsule that will pull it safely away from the booster. [You can see in this animation how that works](https://youtu.be/yVCbVRuDawk?t=64). Because the spacecraft is not yet in orbit, the capsule will then coast for a bit and then deploy its parachutes for a safe landing. In some rockets, like the Russian Soyuz, the abort rockets can be jettisoned after launch. In others, like the SpaceX Dragon, the emergency escape rockets are built into the capsule.
Typically though, the onboard computer will detect an emergency and activate the abort rockets automatically. The button or handle is more of a backup in case something happens that the computer doesn’t detect or if the computer doesn’t react fast enough.
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