SpaceX Conducts In-Flight Abort Test for Crew Dragon Capsule

Aerospace and Defense Review | Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Demo-2 test flight of the Crew Dragon will carry astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onboard and is expected to be ready by the end of February. However, the capsule still needs to undergo various reviews for the system as well as ISS schedules.

FREMONT, CA: Elon Musk owned SpaceX successfully tested its abort system on the Crew Dragon spacecraft on January 19th. This marked one of the final milestones for the company before it can conduct a crewed test flight, as early as this spring. Poor weather had postponed the test flight by a day. The Crew Dragon Capsule was launched onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Eighty-four seconds into the flight, the Crew Dragon ignited its SuperDraco thrusters, pulling away from the Falcon 9. Later, the capsule activated the abort facility, ceasing its thrusters from firing and launched parachutes. Nearly nine minutes after launch, the capsule splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean, about 32 kilometers offshore.

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Officials from both NASA and SpaceX said the test appeared to go as expected, but a detailed review of the data from the trial is yet to be released. "Overall, as far as we can tell thus far, it is a picture-perfect mission. It went as well as one could possibly expect," said Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, at a post-test briefing. The billionaire did not try to hide his excitement, stating he was 'super fired up' about the test.

"Another amazing milestone is complete for our very-soon-to-be project, which is launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "By all accounts, this was a very successful test." Bridenstine added that although the test was a significant milestone in the development of the Crew Dragon Capsule, there is more work to be completed before a final crewed test.

The Demo-2 test flight of the Crew Dragon will carry astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onboard and is expected to be ready by the end of February. However, the capsule still needs to undergo various reviews for the system as well as ISS schedules, which means it will take some more time to launch after the spacecraft is ready. "The collective wisdom at this point is that we’re highly confident the hardware will be ready in quarter 1," Musk said. "It appears probable that the first crewed launch will occur in the second quarter."

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