A pad abort test is a test of a launch escape system to determine how well the system could get the crew of a spacecraft to safety in an emergency on the launch pad. Project Mercury Section sources. The Mercury program included several pad abort tests for the launch escape system with a boilerplate crew module. 1959 July 22 – First successful pad abort flight test with a functional escape tower attached to a Mercury boilerplate 1959 July 28 – A Mercury boilerplate with instruments to measure sound pressure levels and vibrations from the Little Joe test rocket and Grand Central abort rocket/escape tower Project Apollo The Apollo program included several pad abort tests for the launch escape system with a boilerplate crew module. Pad Abort Test-1 was conducted on November 7, 1963, and Pad Abort Test-2 was conducted on June 29, 1965. Both tests were conducted at the White Sands Missile Range. Orion The Orion pad abort test was conducted on May 6, 2010 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The Launch Abort System lifted the Orion Boilerplate to a height of approximately 6000 feet above the ground and landed 6,900 feet downrange about 150 seconds later. The Abort test resulted in no damage to the test article and the mission was considered a complete success. Commercial Crew Dragon 2 The SpaceX Dragon 2 Pad Abort Test was conducted on May 6, 2015 at approximately 0900 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). (A video clip released by SpaceX shows the timestamp of the moment of launch as 13:00:00). The vehicle splashed down safely in the ocean to the east of the launchpad 99 seconds later. A fuel mixture ratio issue was detected after the flight in one of the eight SuperDraco engines, but did not materially affect the flight. More detailed test results were to be subsequently analyzed by both SpaceX and NASA engineers. Starliner The pad abort test of Boeing's Starliner craft was conducted at 14:15 UTC on November 4, 2019 at the White Sands Missile Range. The capsule was lifted to and landed with airbags approximately 90 seconds after liftoff. Though the test was deemed a success, one of three main parachutes failed to deploy properly. ISRO pad abort test On 5 July 2018, Indian Space Research Organisation successfully conducted a pad abort test at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. A first in a series of