Cape Canaveral, fl. – SpaceX The rocket carrying the next group of astronauts to the International Space Station was fired this weekend.
The private space travel company conducted a static-fire test on Wednesday (November 11) Falcon 9 rocket Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The test is one of the last milestones ahead of the planned launch on Saturday (Nov. 14).
Regular preflight inspections have begun the countdown to the long-awaited flight of the company’s first mission, known as the crew’s Dragon Crew capsule. The spacecraft is connected International Space StationIt carries three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut.
The test, scheduled for Tuesday evening (November 10), has been moved back 24 hours, so that in the second phase of the rocket, the SpaceX can test and replace a cleaning valve.
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On Wednesday afternoon, the Falcon 9 rocket came to life as smoke billowed from its engines during preflight testing. The short ignition, also known as the static-fire test, is a standard part of pre-launch procedures and is one of the last major milestones before the liftoff.
During the test, the Falcon 9 fired briefly at its nine first-stage engines while pressing on the pad. This allows the crew to ensure that all systems are working properly and that the rocket is ready to fly. After inspection, Space X Tweeted The static-fire test was successful and the company plans to launch EST (Sunday, November 15, 0049 GMT) at 7:49 pm on Saturday.
This flight marks the 21st mission of SpaceX this year and the first long-term mission to be launched from Florida. The first stage of the rocket is expected to return Cape Canaveral Air Force Station About 9 minutes after the liftoff. If all goes according to plan, the crew will spend just 8.5 hours following the capsule space station before reaching the orbit post on Sunday (Nov. 15).
Both Dragon Capsule Its launcher is new to this mission. Following the success of the Demo-2 mission, which launched two NASA astronauts into space in May for a two-month stay, NASA has approved SpaceX. To reuse the crew capsule and rocket In future missions. In fact, the Dragon capsule from the Crew-2 mission demo-2, which is set to launch next year, and the booster from the Crew-1 mission will be reused.
Adheres to set priority Demo-2 Mission, The shiny first stage exterior of the rocket is decorated with NASA’s iconic worm logo.
Both when the dragon capsule is located on top of the rocket Rolled from hanger to launch pad Monday evening (Nov. 9) at Complex 39A. At 256.3 feet (78.1 m), the pair stood upright overnight.
Related: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Space Capsule Explained (Infographic)
Secured on the launch pad, the teams loaded the rocket with super-frozen propellants – kerosene and liquid oxygen, and then fired up nine Merlin 1D engines in the first phase.
The engines fired at 3:52 pm EST (2052 GMT), producing 1.7 million pounds and the booster stuck to the ground. On Saturday evening, engineers reviewed the data before deciding to proceed with Falcon 9’s planned launch attempt.
“Falcon 9’s Static Fire Completed – Targeted at 7:49 pm on Saturday, November 14, with four astronauts to launch the crew dragon’s first mission to the space station,” SpaceX Tweeted After inspection.
The company said it would continue to monitor the weather for the lift and the flight path leading to the launch.
Falcon 9’s Static Fire Completed – Targeted at 7:49 pm on Saturday, November 14, the crew dragon’s first mission with four astronauts to launch into space_station. Teams will continue to monitor the weather for lifts and flight pathsNovember 11, 2020
The static fire test is based on a hardware swap. The crew-1, originally scheduled for October 31, was delayed by two weeks, allowing SpaceX time to replace one of the booster’s nine Merlin 1D engines in the first phase.
Last month, SpaceX attempted to launch an upgraded GPS satellite when it noticed an engine malfunction. The rocket board is on the computer An abortion began The mission was postponed indefinitely while teams worked to resolve the issue.
Upon thorough investigation, any remaining masking lacquer in the manufacturing process prevented the engines from operating as expected. SpaceX replaces two engines in that rocket, GPS mission completed Get off the ground On November 5th.
SpaceX took the time to test the other two boosters, and determined that the other two Falcon 9s had found the same amount of lacquer in the engines in the early stages – one on the Sentinel-6 Earth-observation satellite launch rocket and one on the crew-1 booster. SpaceX Changed Affected engines.
Successful static fire test Now under its belt, the rocket is ready to fly. After launching Saturday night, SpaceX plans to deploy its first-stage booster, “Just Read Instructions”, one of two large drone ships, in the Atlantic Ocean. If successful, it will mark the 65th booster recovery.
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