Spacex news: Crew Dragon launch pad explosion, a setback for Elon Musk? | World | New



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On Saturday, SpaceX tested the rocket rescue system for its new human-capacity Crew Dragon spacecraft. A spokesman for the US Air Force told local press that the incident at Cape Canaveral Air Base had been under control and that no one had been injured. The explosion occurred after a static fire test of the emergency abandonment system of the new Crew Dragon space capsule, intended for Crew Commercial Crew program to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

Look at the images that have leaked RIGHT HERE

A statement from SpaceX said: "Earlier today, SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test stand located in Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral, California. Florida.

"The first tests were done successfully, but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test bench."

On Sunday, an unverified video on Twitter claimed to show the space capsule exploding during the test.

This small setback comes after a series of successes by Elon Musk, with crew Crew Dragon entering orbit for the first time last month.

READ MORE: Mars boost: successful launch of Elon Musk's reusable Falcon Heavy

This latest incident could, however, delay the launch of a crewed mission to the International Space Station later this year.

Since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the United States has not yet been able to send their own astronauts into orbit.

He had to rely instead on Russia and his Soyuz spacecraft.

Images of smoke from the space capsule circulated on social media.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, said it had opened an investigation and pledged to ensure that its systems comply with "stringent safety standards."

SpaceX appeared to be about to defeat Boeing in the race to be the first to launch astronauts into orbit from US soil since NASA's last mission in 2011.

But this explosion in the static test shot of the Dragon Crew capsule can change things.

Elon Musk remained silent about the incident, with the exception of the mysterious word "Respawn ++".

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