Skip to main content

Take a high-speed ride on SpaceX’s emergency escape chute

SpaceX has put a Crew Dragon on Pad 40 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time. This means that going forward, SpaceX will have two pads to choose from when sending astronauts to space.

Up to now, crews launching on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft lift off from Pad 39A at Kennedy, but having another launch site available gives NASA and SpaceX greater flexibility when planning missions by easing pressure on teams if scheduling issues and traffic conflicts arise.

Recommended Videos

As part of building out the crew facilities for Pad 40, SpaceX tested its new emergency chute that allows astronauts to make a quick escape from the launchpad in the event of an issue shortly before liftoff. Astronauts are strapped into their Crew Dragon seats for several hours before launch, and so if an anomaly occurs in that time and the astronauts need to get out, or if an astronaut becomes incapacitated for whatever reason, the chute offers a rapid exit path.

SpaceX shared a video showing what it’s like to take a ride down the chute from 230 feet (70 meters) up, all the way to the ground.

Teams test the new emergency chutes from the pad 40 crew tower in Florida pic.twitter.com/rWVj7zaHp0

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 19, 2024

The chute complements the more rapid emergency system that propels the Crew Dragon away from the Falcon 9 rocket at speed in the event of a serious anomaly. This system can be used before launch or in the early stages of flight.

On the integration of Pad 40 to SpaceX’s crewed launch endeavors, Daniel Forrestal, launch integration manager at NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said, “We wouldn’t have guessed this 10 years ago out here at KSC (Kennedy Space Center), but what’s become one of the biggest constraints to launching is pad availability because business is booming here at the Space Coast and at Kennedy with not just SpaceX but with all the folks launching. Bringing [Pad] 40 online just gives us more flexibility.”

SpaceX shared photos of a Crew Dragon on Pad 40 for the first time:

Dragon 2 vertical on pad 40 for the first time pic.twitter.com/MMg3QCTVLy

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 19, 2024

The last time a Dragon spacecraft launched from Pad 40 bound for the ISS was SpaceX’s CRS-20 cargo-only mission in March 2020.

It’s unclear if SpaceX’s Crew-9 will be the first astronauts to lift off from Pad 40 or whether a later crew will share that honor.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to watch SpaceX’s fifth Starship test flight on Sunday
spacex starship fifth flight live stream 5 website desktop 1 12e2f537a0 jpg

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its mighty Starship on its fifth test flight, scheduled for Sunday, October 13. With a mostly-successful fourth test flight behind it, the Starship has already been into orbit and returned to Earth mostly intact. This time, SpaceX will be hoping to catch its Super Heavy booster as well as taking the upper stage Starship into orbit.

The exact date of this fifth test flight has been delayed due to issues with licensing from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but SpaceX has now confirmed it is targeting 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT) Sunday for its test.

Read more
SpaceX could launch Starship on 5th test flight much earlier than expected
The world's most powerful rocket on the launchpad.

There’s growing expectation that SpaceX could launch the mighty Starship rocket as early as Sunday, October 13.

SpaceX was informed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month that it was unlikely to receive a launch permit until late November as the regulator needed time to complete work on its flight launch assessment.

Read more
Watch the Crew Dragon hurtling through space at 17,500 mph
The Crew-9 Crew Dragon on its way to the space station.

SpaceX has released some remarkable footage (below) showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft zipping through space, with the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles below.

Aboard the Crew Dragon were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as they made their way to the International Space Station (ISS) in SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.

Read more