Check Out NASA's Righteous Armored Escape Van

As Boeing and SpaceX rev up to start flinging actual human beings into space, NASA is making sure it's ready for a worst-case scenario on the ground. Meet the MRAP, the beefy escape van that will shuttle astronauts away from the launchpad if things get dicey.

If the MRAP looks like it was built for war, that's because it was; NASA got four of the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles from the US Army as a gift. They follow in a long tradition of ex-military vehicles in astronaut escape plans. Back in the Shuttle days, NASA used the tank-like M113 for much the same purpose.

NASA's MRAPs— or "emergency egress vehicles" as they are boringly called—aren't exactly new; they arrived at Kennedy Space Center in late 2013. But just recently, NASA ran some preliminary tests of escape routes from lauchpad 41, and the MRAPs passed with flying colors. The vans are not just fast, but also roomy and quiet. As Brian Pitchford, a senior systems engineer for Special Aerospace Services, puts it:

We were surprised it was faster than we'd calculated. It's not noisy at all, I mean you can carry on fairly regular conversations inside

Not that a launchpad evacuation is much of a time for regular conversation.

For an idea of exactly how hefty an MRAP is, its doors weigh 600 pounds. In fact it's so well armored that it can act as a bunker. But when it's on the go, it can comfortable reach a peppy 50 MPH, which makes for a rather quick trip to the helipad in case of emergency.

Naturally no one wants to see a case in which the MRAP would be put to use, and so far there haven't been any launchpad catastrophes of that type. But you can never be too prepared. And it's good to get these things racing through their escape routes now and then, if only so we can see how rad they look in action.

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Source: NASA via Engadget