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 towerProject 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...