Jep, the escape system is definitely not a walk in the park. As far as I know, the Soyuz escape system is the only one that was deployed with people inside, in

Jep, the escape system is definitely not a walk in the park. As far as I know, the Soyuz escape system is the only one that was deployed with people inside, in the Soyuz T-10a accident. Suffice to say, the cosmonauts didn't like it very much. They got between 14g-17g for 5 seconds, which removed them 4km downwards from the exploding launch vehicle. After landing safely (and being badly bruised), they asked for cigarettes and were given shots of Vodka. [1] [1] http://www.americaspace.com/2013/09/28/we-were-swearing-thirty-years-since-russias-close-shave-with-disaster/ http://www.americaspace.com/2013/09/28/we-were-swearing-thir...