Elon Musk On SpaceX Crew Dragon Test Launch: Falcon 9 Will Be ‘Destroyed’

SpaceX is set to launch an important mission this Saturday as its Falcon 9 rocket will be propelling the Crew Dragon, its first vehicle designed to carry humans aboard, to space. However, CEO Elon Musk said that there is a “high probability” of the rocket getting destroyed sometime after the first Crew Dragon’s launch.

“High probability of this particular rocket getting destroyed by Dragon supersonic abort test. Otherwise, at least 20 or 30 missions for Falcon 9. Starship will take over before the F9 fleet reaches end of life,” Musk said in a tweet.

However, the supposed “destruction” of the rocket is crucial and even expected. This could happen at a time when the Crew Dragon’s abort system is tested, an important aspect to ensure that SpaceX covers all safety procedures to protect passengers aboard the spacecraft. The “in-flight abort” scenario is scheduled to happen in SpaceX’s next big launch and will be done to simulate a situation where the F9 experiences a problem during flight.

If successful, the Crew Dragon will be the first commercial capsule that will bring NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

According to The Verge, the Crew Dragon is set to play a crucial role in the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA stopped operating its Space Shuttle in 2011 and had to rely on hitching a very expensive ride with Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft just to reach the ISS. Each seat on the Soyuz costs NASA around $81 million.

Because of this, NASA turned to American private groups to help bring their astronauts to space. The Commercial Crew Program partially funded both SpaceX and Boeing to develop their own spacecraft that could bring NASA crew to space. Boeing is developing its CST-100 Starliner while SpaceX worked on the Crew Dragon.

The Crew Dragon capsule is very similar to the Dragon cargo capsule that has been sending supplies to the ISS since 2012. It will take off from the SpaceX launchpad in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The mission, billed Demonstration-1 or DM-1, will leave on March 2 at 2:49 a.m. The Crew Dragon capsule will circle the Earth a few times before trying to dock on the ISS. The launch will test various aspects of the capsule using instruments and cameras that will be used to gather data for its future flights.

The capsule will mimic carrying human cargo onboard and a test dummy wearing a SpaceX-designed suit will also be inside the capsule. The DM-1 will also test if the new docking adapter installed by astronauts in 2016 will work. It’s a feature that’s designed to let the Crew Dragon dock on the ISS on its own.