Editing Apollo abort modes (section)

== Pad abort ==
[[Image:Launch escape system diagram.jpg|thumb|Apollo Launch Escape System diagram]]If the rocket failed in the last five minutes before launch, the CM and the [[Apollo (spacecraft)#Launch escape system (LES)|launch escape system]] (LES, see figure) would separate from the remainder of the rocket below with the LES propelling itself and the CM beneath it upward and eastward to the sea using a small solid-fueled motor (the launch escape motor) at the top of the tower on the launch escape system. The launch escape tower would then be jettisoned in anticipation of the parachute deployment and the CM would splash down. (Preparation for a pad abort is seen in Apollo video footage: five minutes before launch, the umbilical arm connecting to the CM retracts and swings clear of the rocket. It does so because the swing arm must be out of the way in case the EDS decides to abort.)

Two tests of the LES were conducted:

*[[Pad Abort Test-1 (Apollo)|Pad Abort Test-1]]: Launch Escape System (LES) abort test from launch pad with Apollo [[Boilerplate (spaceflight)|Boilerplate]] BP-6.
*[[Pad Abort Test-2 (Apollo)|Pad Abort Test-2]]: LES pad abort test of near Block-I CM with Apollo Boilerplate B-23A.