To prepare for first launch, which is just under two months away, the emergency launch abort system (LAS) has been installed on NASA's path finding Orion crew capsule.

The LAS stands at the very top of the Orion launch stack, bolted above the crew module and it plays a significantly essential role to ensure crew safety. In case of an emergency, the LAS is made to ignite within milliseconds to quickly push the astronauts inside the crew module away from the rocket and save the astronauts lives.

The LAS will be mostly inactive for the EFT-1 mission because no crew is aboard. It is one of the five primary components of the flight test vehicle for the EFT-1 mission and it will be active on future Orion flights. Joining the LAS is one of the final component assembly steps.

On Friday, October 3, 2014, technicians and engineers working inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida attached the LAS to the top of the Orion EFT-1 crew module.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the maiden blastoff of Orion on the EFT-1 mission is scheduled for December 4, 2014, from Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37). Orion is NASA's next generation human rated vehicle that will finally take America's astronauts beyond Earth on journeys.

At Kennedy Space Center, assembly of the Orion EFT-1 capsule and stacking atop the service module was completed in September. Former shuttle commander and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said that they have been working towards this launch for months and they are in final stretch.

"We will test the heat shield, the separation of the fairing and exercise over 50% of the eventual software and electronic systems inside the Orion spacecraft. We will also test the recovery systems coming back into the Pacific Ocean", said NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot during the boosters unveiling earlier this year at the Cape.