Kennedy Space Center, FL - Space Shuttle prime crew Commander John Young
and Pilot Bob
Crippen watch as backup crew members Richard Truly and Joe Engle board
the emergency pad
escape system known as the slidewire. The slidewire system provides
a quick escape from upper
launch pad platforms in case of a serious emergency. The flight
crews wore the spacesuits and
other equipment to be worn during a mission, but sandbags were used
to duplicate the weight of
riders in the slidewire baskets during the training.