Roller Coaster Could Be Launch Escape

From Discovery News:

A roller coaster system could carry astronauts to safety from a launchpad. The riskiest part of spaceflight undoubtedly is the launch, but just sitting atop a fully fueled rocket certainly would test one's mettle. To boost the chances of surviving a launch pad accident, NASA is looking to build a high-speed roller coaster as an escape system for crewmembers aboard its new Orion vehicles. The roller coaster would replace the slidewire baskets that serve as the launch pad evacuation system for shuttle astronauts. When astronauts need to flee the current launch pad system, they can climb into the open baskets that slide down a wire to a bunker. So far, the baskets have never been used.

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