SpaceX said the machine was undergoing a "series of engine tests" in a Cape Canaveral facility, and that something went wrong during the last leg. SpaceX will work with NASA to determine the cause of the problem. No injuries have been reported.
"Ensuring that our systems meet stringent safety standards and detect [issues] like this before the flight are the main reasons we test, "said SpaceX in a statement.
Crew Dragon is already late, and more delays could complicate NASA's task. The United States does not have the technology to bring humans into orbit since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011. In addition, NASA has paid Russia about $ 80 million per seat to send astronauts to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz capsules. t very popular in the congress halls.
NASA has decided to ask the private sector to design and build a new generation of spacecraft.
SpaceX and Boeing (BA), which builds a vehicle called Starliner, won contracts worth $ 2.6 billion and $ 4.2 billion respectively in 2014. The two capsules were to start flying in 2017, but SpaceX and Boeing were delayed.
SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, beat Boeing on the launch pad by sending Crew Dragon on an unarmed test flight in March, during which the capsule docked at the ISS for a few days before go home. This mission seemed to unfold without a hitch.
Crew Dragon was to perform a key test of his emergency abandonment system in June. And his first crewed mission, which will include astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, was scheduled for July, although NASA recently said the schedule was being revised.
Boeing 's goal is to launch the unprepared test flight of Starliner in August, potentially putting the capsule on track to allow astronauts to fly their planes by the end of the summer. ;year.
Federal surveillance authorities warned NASA last year that further delays could harm American astronauts if the new capsules were not ready to fly in 2019. NASA had reserved only seats for Soyuz until December. But the space agency revealed in February that it would seek to get two more seats – one on a flight that would leave later this year and the other on a mission scheduled for spring 2020 – to ensure "a continuous activity and research and security activity on ISS".
