The LES included three wires that ran down the exterior of the launch vehicle. If the signals from any two of the wires were lost, the LES would activate automatically. Alternatively, the Commander could activate the system manually using one of two translation controller handles, which were switched to a special abort mode for launch. When activated, the LES would fire a solid fuel escape rocket and open a canard system to direct the CM away from, and off the path of, a launch vehicle in trouble. The LES would then jettison and the CM would land with its parachute recovery system.