SpaceX Shares Video Of Crew Dragon Launch Escape System Test [Watch]

Elon Musk-led SpaceX is readying for a crucial test of its Crew Dragon capsule that is being made for NASA to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

SpaceX also tweeted some visuals of the Crew Dragon tests.

The capsule will have the capacity to transport as many as seven astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) at a time in ideal conditions.

The latest news on Dragon 1 appeared in a CNBC report, which said the static fire test involving a simulated launch using a rocket engine secured to the ground would happen at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on November 2.

In April, a static fire test went wrong following an “anomaly” and caused the explosion of an uncrewed capsule. SpaceX later diagnosed the problem as a leak at a spot between the launch abort and orbital maneuvering systems. Now it has reworked that part of the capsule.

However, a report by End Gadget said SpaceX has not confirmed the test’s timing although it tweeted the video of Crew Dragon's "upgraded launch escape system" ahead of the planned tests.

SpaceX launch of an empty Crew Dragon in March was a success and it docked with the ISS and returned to Earth successfully, per SpaceX news.

If the proposed static fire test becomes successful, SpaceX will move to the next test- “In-flight abort’ concerning the SuperDraco safety system.

In that trial, SpaceX will be attaching an empty Crew Dragon to a rocket and activate the system after liftoff. There will be at least 10 Crew Dragon parachute system tests. A crewed test, Demo-2, could take place in early 2020.

After SpaceX fast-tracked Crew Dragon, it is Boeing’s turn. According to reports, Boeing will test its Starliner capsule with an uncrewed flight to the ISS in December.

Why Crew Dragon is urgent

Crew Dragon assumes urgency for NASA as the United States has not launched humans into orbit since the Space Shuttle program was wound down in 2011.

Since then, NASA has been relying on the Russian Soyuz rocket and spacecraft to launch American crew members to the International Space Station.

This entailed steep costs as Russia was charging NASA $85 million per seat, per NASA News.

Now setbacks in the Commercial Crew programs are being addressed including technical challenges of a major anomaly and problems with the spacecraft’s parachutes.

The proposed static fire test after many correctives will become the precursor to the inflight abort test and help the capsule to perform the abort maneuvers while held down to a test stand.