Space Shuttle prime crew astronauts Bob Crippen (left) and John Young
(center) 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.