'The first full-scale test (in which an unmanned capsule was mounted on the same kind of rocket that would be used when carrying humans) of a launch escape system has to be considered a highly qualified success. This system, which is still used by some space vehicles today, is called a launch escape tower—that long pointed top seen on many rockets including those of the Mercury and Apollo missions. It’s actually a smaller rocket mounted on top that pulls the crewed capsule away from the falling rocket.'
