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The investigation on the destruction of SpaceX astronaut taxi last month is fast approaching.
On April 20, a capsule of the dragon's crew exploded during a routine test "static fire" thrusters at emergency evacuation of gear at Cape Air Base Canaveral Florida. No one was injured other than the spacecraft – which in March successfully conducted an unprepared test mission to the International Space Station (ISS). called Demo-1 – was lost.
SpaceX and NASA have managed to clean up the crash site and are now focusing on the causes of the crash, agency officials announced today (May 28).
Related: SpaceX Dragon Crash A Stroke On The Road For The Commercial Crew
"The teams have completed their work to ensure the safety of the site and focus on the root cause analysis, which will determine the impact on commercial crews," flight tests of NASA officials wrote in an update.
SpaceX has signed a multi-billion dollar contract to fly NASA astronauts to and from the ISS with the help of Crew Dragon and the company's Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX and NASA plan to launch astronauts at the orbiting laboratory on Crew Dragon before the end of the year. SpaceX just needs to tick another key milestone: an in-flight abandonment test, an unprepared mission designed to show that the SuperDraco rescue thrusters from the capsule can safely propel Crew Dragon in an emergency.
After that, Demo-2, a test mission that will send two astronauts into the ISS. Contracted operational flights will follow Demo-2.
The crew Dragon lost during last month's crash had been designated to perform the flight dropping mission. SpaceX must redefine its capsule assignments.
"SpaceX had several Crew Dragon vehicles in production, and [the company] plans to move spacecraft missions forward, "NASA officials said in a statement.The first operational space mission will be used for Demo-2."
NASA has not published a revised flight timeline. "NASA and SpaceX remain committed to the safety of our astronauts and our ground crew and will conduct flight tests as soon as they are ready," officials wrote in an update.
SpaceX has fired SuperDracos hundreds of times in previous tests without any problem, say company representatives. On April 20, the company successfully launched Draco Crew Dragon thrusters, which allow the capsule to maneuver in space. The anomaly has occurred just before the team plans to hire the SuperDracos.
The aerospace giant, Boeing, also has a commercial agreement with NASA. The company plans to fulfill its contract using a capsule called CST-100 Starliner, which will launch at the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas rocket.
Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"(Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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