Yes, this SpaceX crew capsule was permanently destroyed during a failed ground test, confirms the company

After weeks of speculation, SpaceX has finally admitted that a Crew Dragon capsule had been destroyed during a test of the system's thrusters on April 20th. No cause has been given for this anomaly, and no new details have been leaked about the possible delays of NASA's languid commercial crew program. .

Hans Koenigsmann, vice president for the reliability of construction and flight systems at SpaceX, told reporters at a briefing held earlier this week that this incident was "certainly not good news", in that which concerns the company's project to launch astronauts into space. year, as reported by CBS News. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an upcoming cargo launch in the ISS, but the incident, in which a Crew Dragon capsule was set on fire just before firing the thrusters to abortion, dominated most of the discussion.

The accident occurred in Cape Canaveral Landing Zone 1 on April 20 during static ground booster tests of the system. The crew dragon would have been engulfed in the flames and a thick orange-black smoke, possibly toxic, could be seen for miles. NASA and SpaceX both talked about the incident, but Koenigsmann shared new information with reporters during the briefing.

Draco's smaller and more maneuverable system thrusters were tested earlier in the day without incident, he said. It was when attention turned to the larger SuperDraco boosters in the system – a series of eight thrusters linked to the drop system – that things went bad.

"On the test bench, we powered Dragon, but as expected, we did tests with Draco thrusters, the smallest thrusters also on the Dragon cargo ship," Koenigsmann told CBS News. "And just before we wanted to shoot the SuperDracos, there was an anomaly and the vehicle was destroyed."

The accident occurred a half-second before the SuperDracos were lit, but the Vice President of SpaceX refused to speculate on the reason for the failure, saying that an investigation was underway. course to determine the cause. He would not say, for example, if Crew Dragon's trip to the ISS in March could have had anything to do with this failure. That said, Koenigsman said the SuperDraco thrusters were probably not the cause of this anomaly, claiming that the company had made "about 600 tests" boosters to date, as reported by SpaceNews. The ignition system "has been activated – which involves the opening and closing of valves, as well as pressurization systems – when flames burst," he said, as the 39, reported the Associated Press.

According to his comments, it seems that Koenigsman believes that the problem could be related to the process of lighting the system, which would actually be good news. the internal piping of the system, so to speak, would probably be a much simpler solution than the thrusters, which, if a problem were detected, might require a major overhaul.

Koenigsman also refrained from speculating on how the incident could affect the schedule. The next important step was to be taken in June, with a non-armed flight test of the Dragon's abandonment system. The inaugural crewed flight involving NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken was scheduled to take place in July, but Koenigsman said the results of the investigation would dictate the timing and next steps required.

"Finishing the investigation and resolving this anomaly is actually our main focus, certainly for me at the moment," Koenigsman told SpaceNews. "I hope that it is a relatively quick investigation late in the day and that I do not want to completely exclude the current schedule."

On a positive note, Koenigsman said that more crew dragons are being built, one of which could possibly be used for the next flight drop test, according to AP. In addition, Dragon cargo capsules used to carry supplies to the ISS will not be affected by this test failure, he said, as these systems are not equipped with abandonment propellers. For example, a Dragon cargo capsule is expected to be launched tomorrow from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after a series of unrelated delays.

All that being said, and to quote Koenigsmann, this is "certainly not good news", no matter how you cut it off. Obviously, the crew version of the Dragon capsule has a problem that needs to be fixed. This will take time and effort, so be prepared for delays in the already delayed commercial crew program of NASA.