Editing Escape pod

{{short description|Capsule or craft used to evacuate base or vehicle in case of emergency}}
{{About|the safety capsule|the podcast|Escape Pod}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
[[File:B-58A Escape capsule.jpg|thumb|The escape capsule of a [[Convair B-58 Hustler]]]]
[[File:F-111C escape capsule.JPG|thumb|right|The escape capsule of a [[Royal Australian Air Force]] [[F-111]]. This capsule saved the lives of two crew members when the aircraft crashed in October 1978. Australian War Memorial, 2007]]
An '''escape pod''', '''escape capsule''', '''life capsule''', or '''lifepod''' is a capsule or craft, usually only big enough for one person, used to escape from a vessel in an emergency. An '''escape ship''' is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose. Escape pods are ubiquitous in [[science fiction]] but are only used in a few real vehicles.

==Real life==
* Because they were intended to fly too high and fast for safe use of conventional [[ejection seat]]s, the [[Bell X-2]], [[B-58 Hustler]], [[XB-70 Valkyrie]], [[F-111]] and [[B-1 Lancer|B‑1A Lancer]] all used enclosed [[escape crew capsule]]s of some kind.
** A similar concept OSCAR (Optimum Survival Containment and Recovery), was intended for the [[Vought F-8 Crusader]].<ref>Naval Aviation News, July 1971</ref><ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1970/pdf/jul71.pdf navy.mil]</ref>
* The single [[submarine]] of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] "Mike"-class, [[Soviet submarine K-278 Komsomolets|K-278 Komsomolets]] had an escape capsule, which was jettisoned upon its sinking in 1989. Other Soviet submarines like the [[Oscar-class submarine|Oscar-class]] are only rumored to have escape capsules. During the sinking of the ''[[Russian submarine K-141 Kursk|Kursk]]'', the crew was unable to reach it. Also the [[Typhoon-class submarine|Typhoon-class]] is rumored to have escape pods located near or in the [[Sail (submarine)|sail]]. Evidence for this can be found in a German documentary on the ''Typhoon''-class submarine ''Severstal''. The [[Shishumar-class submarine|Shishumar class submarine]] has an IKL-designed integrated escape sphere. The sphere has accommodations for the entire crew with an eight-hour air supply.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.military-today.com/navy/shishumar_class.htm|title=Shishumar Class - Patrol submarine|last=ARG|access-date=2009-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127053113if_/http://military-today.com/navy/shishumar_class.htm|archive-date=2009-01-27|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/navy/equipment/submarines/shishumar-class/|title=Shishumar Class}}</ref>

==Fiction==
Escape pods are frequently depicted as being used by large spacecraft in science fiction, for example the [[Millennium Falcon]] in ''[[Star Wars]]'', the Axiom in ''[[WALL-E]]'', and the vessels of [[Starfleet]] in ''[[Star Trek]]''. The 1981 film ''[[Lifepod (1981 film)|Lifepod]]'' and the [[Lifepod (1993 film)|1993 TV film of the same name]] both revolve around such vehicles.

==See also==
{{portal|Spaceflight|Transport}}
{{Commons category|Escape pod}}
{{Wiktionary|escape pod}}
* {{annotated link|Lifeboat (shipboard)|Lifeboat}}
* {{annotated link|Escape crew capsule}}
* {{annotated link|Launch escape system}}
* {{annotated link|Apollo abort modes}}
* {{annotated link|Space Shuttle abort modes}}
* {{annotated link|Orion abort modes}}
* {{annotated link|Soyuz abort modes}}
* {{annotated link|Escape Pod (podcast)|''Escape Pod''}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://patents.google.com/patent/US20170144761A1/ Detachable Pilotable Capsules and Aircrafts <nowiki>[sic]</nowiki> Including Detachable Pilotable Capsules]

[[Category:Aircraft emergency systems]]
[[Category:Fictional spacecraft by type]]
[[Category:Rescue equipment]]