Smoke seen for miles while SpaceX Crew Dragon suffers from an anomaly in Cape Canaveral

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule suffered a malfunction during a routine engine test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base on Saturday afternoon, confirmed today's company and 45 Wing officials. of space.

"On April 20, 2019, an anomaly occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base during the Dragon 2 static test fire," said the spokesman. Wing Jim Williams at FLORIDA TODAY'S HUI. "The anomaly was contained and there was no injury."

FLORIDA TODAY & # 39; HUI Photographer Craig Bailey, who covered a surf festival at Cocoa Beach, captured an image of the orange plume that was building SpaceX facilities in Cape Town around 3:30 pm.

Earlier in the day, SpaceX performed a series of engine tests on a test vehicle Crew Dragon on our test bench located in Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. said SpaceX in a statement. "The initial tests were successful, an anomaly on the bench."

"Our primary focus is ensuring that our systems comply with stringent safety standards and the detection of such anomalies prior to flight, and our teams are investigating and collaborating closely with our NASA partners," said the team. company.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon, also called Dragon 2, is designed to bring humans to the International Space Station and flew successfully for the first time in March. The company planned to launch a crewed version of the spacecraft no earlier than July, but it also provided for an in-flight abandonment test or demonstration of its rescue abandonment capabilities, whatever time before.

It is unclear whether Crew Dragon was involved in Saturday's anomaly, but each spacecraft has Super Draco thrusters designed to be used as a launch abandonment system. They require occasional firing tests to assess their readiness and performance.

The SpaceX schedule for the return of US teams to the ISS from US soil will likely be revised to include a first launch later this year.

Contact Emre Kelly at [email protected] or 321-242-3715. Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on @EmreKelly.

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