The Four-Inch Flight - A Lesson from History

[bitchstewie]

I'm not sure I'd fancy walking up to this afterwards

https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/the-four-inc...

[Eric Mc]

Also known as "The Day They Launched the Escape Tower".

[Simpo Two]

I thought the escape tower would take the capsule with it, as that's what it's for in the event of a failure.

[Eric Mc]

Not once it's above a certain altitude - at which point it is jettisoned WITHOUT taking the capsule with it. On this occasion, because the sequencer was all to cock (a technical term), it thought that the rocket was already high enough for the tower to be jettisoned so shot it off.