Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

The Space Shuttle Crew Escape System consisted of two spring-loaded telescoping poles in a curved housing mounted on the middeck ceiling. A magazine at the end of the pole held eight sliding hook and lanyard assembles. In an emergency, crew members could open the side hatch, deploy the pole, attach to a lanyard, and slide out along the pole to parachute away from the orbiter. The crew escape system was intended for emergency bailout use only when the orbiter was in controlled gliding flight and unable to reach a runway. It gave the crew an alternative to ditching in water or landing on terrain other than a landing site, neither option being survivable.

NASA added crew escape systems to the Space Shuttle orbiters after the 1986 Challenger tragedy. This equipment was removed from Discovery after its last flight (STS-133 in 2011) so NASA could release the high-tension springs for safety before delivering the orbiter to the Museum. The pole assembly was reinstalled in Discovery; the springs remain in storage.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type EQUIPMENT-Miscellaneous Manufacturer NASA - Johnson Space Center
Dimensions Overall: 321.9 x 8.9cm, 112.5kg (10 ft. 6 3/4 in. x 3 1/2 in., 248lb.)
Primary pole: 185.4 cm (73 in.)
Extension: 81.3 cm (32 in.)
Materials Steel, aluminum, Kevlar, Nomex
Inventory Number A20120326000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.