[ad_1]
SpaceX has delayed the launch of a Dragon cargo mission for NASA by 24 hours this week, with takeoff scheduled for Wednesday (May 1).
The unarmed supply ship Dragon is now due to arrive at the International Space Station at 3:59 am (0759 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida, according to SpaceX and NASA . SpaceX has tested the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the mission Saturday, April 27.
"The Falcon 9 static fire test is over – the launch of Pad 40 in Florida will be held on May 1st for Dragon's seventeenth mission on the @ Space_Station," representatives of SpaceX said in a Twitter update on the mission.
Related: How SpaceX Dragon Space Capsule Works (Infographic)
The one-day launch follows a four-day delay in the mission (originally scheduled for April 26) by NASA and SpaceX "due to station and orbital mechanics constraints", announced NASA officials at the time.
SpaceX officials said the company would use the additional four days for launch controls and the Falcon 9 static fire test, which briefly fired the booster's first-stage engines. Static fire tests are a standard SpaceX activity before each launch.
The next Dragon cargo mission will be SpaceX's 17th delivery flight for NASA. The spacecraft will deliver more than 5,500 pounds. (2,495 kilograms) of fresh supplies, experimental equipment and other equipment for Expedition 59 astronauts currently at the space station.
SpaceX also signed a contract with NASA to have astronauts come to the station using the company's new spacecraft, Crew Dragon, which made its first unmanned test flight in March. A flight crew abandonment test of Crew Dragon is expected to take place later this year, followed by a crew flight by NASA astronauts.
But before SpaceX can proceed with the flight abandonment test, the company must complete its investigation into an April 20 anomaly during a Crew Dragon abandonment system test. This anomaly occurred while SpaceX was testing Crew Dragon's eight SuperDraco stopping engines on a test stand located in Landing Zone 1, one of two landing areas of the rocket of the company at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is also preparing for another major mission: the next launch of its huge mega-jack Falcon Heavy.
Last week, SpaceX successfully tested the central scene of the Falcon Heavy that will be used to launch the Space Test Program-2 mission for the US Air Force. This mission will include a host of different payloads for the US Air Force, NASA, Planetary Society and other clients.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him. @tariqjmalik. follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link