Cape Canaveral, fl. – SpaceX I shot the rocket that will take the next crew of astronauts to the International Space Station this weekend.
The private space airline conducted its standard-fire test on Wednesday (Nov. 11) Falcon 9 Rocket At Bat 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The test is one of the last major milestones ahead of the scheduled launch on Saturday (Nov. 14).
In a routine priority test, its Dragon crew, known as the Crew-1, kicked the countdown to the company’s first operational flight of the capsule’s first operational mission. The spacecraft is tied up International Space Station, Accompanied by three NASA astronauts and a Japanese astronaut.
The test, originally scheduled for Tuesday evening (Nov. 10), was postponed 24 hours, so a clean valve could be tested and replaced in the second phase of the SpaceX rocket.
Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut launches for NASA
In the photos: SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station
On Wednesday afternoon, the Falcon 9 rocket roared to life, with smoke coming from its engines during a pre-test. The abbreviated ignition, also known as the static-fire test, is a standard part of forecast procedures and is one of the last major milestones before the liftoff.
During the test, the Falcon 9 is placed on pad, while its nine first-stage engines are briefly fired. This allows the crew to ensure that all systems are working properly and that the rocket is ready to fly. After testing, SpaceX Tweeted The standard-fire test was successful and the company planned to launch EST (Sunday, November 15 0049 GMT) at 7:49 pm on Saturday.
This aircraft marks the 21st mission of SpaceX of the year and the 1st long-term mission to launch from Florida. The first phase of the rocket is expected to land again Cape Canaveral Air Force Station About 9 minutes after the liftoff. If all goes according to plan, the team will spend 8.5 hours behind the capsule space station before arriving at the orbital outpost early Sunday (Nov. 15).
Both Dragon Capsule Its launcher is new to this task. Following the success of the Demo-2 mission that landed two NASA astronauts aboard the space station in May, NASA has granted SpaceX permission. Reuse both panel capsule and rocket Regarding future missions. In fact, the Cro-2 mission, which will be launched next year, will reuse the Dragon capsule from Demo-2 and the booster from the Cro-1 mission.
Keeping up with the set precedent Demo-2 work, The glossy first phase exterior of the rocket is decorated with NASA’s iconic worm symbol.
With the Dragon Capsule located on top of the rocket, both From the hanger and rolled onto the launch pad Monday evening (Nov. 9) at Complex 39A. At 256.3 feet (78.1 meters) tall, the pair were lifted upright in one night.
Related: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Space Capsule Explained (Chart)
To secure the launch site, the teams loaded the rocket with super-cold propulsion kerosene and liquid oxygen, and then briefly ignited the first phase nine Merlin 1D engines.
The engines fired at 3:52 pm EST (2052 GMT), generating 1.7 million pounds of thrust while the booster remained firmly on the ground. Engineers reviewed the data on Saturday evening before deciding to proceed with Falcon 9’s scheduled launch effort.
“Falcon 9’s permanent fire is over – targeted Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 pm Tweeted Soon after the test.
The company also said that teams on the lift and the runway will continue to monitor the weather.
Falcon 9’s permanent fire ended – Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. To launch Crew Dragon’s first mission to space station with four astronauts. Teams will constantly monitor weather conditions in the liftoff and runwayNovember 11, 2020
The standard fire test comes in the background of a hardware transfer. Originally scheduled for Oct. 31, the Crew-1 was pushed back two weeks, allowing SpaceX time to replace one of the booster’s nine Merlin 1D engines in its first phase.
Last month, SpaceX tried to pay for an upgraded GPS satellite when it noticed a mechanical anomaly. The rocket board is on the computer Triggered an abortion The task was postponed indefinitely while the teams worked to fix the problem.
In a thorough investigation, the remaining mask varnish left over from the manufacturing process prevented the machines from operating as expected. SpaceX replaced the two engines on that rocket and the GPS mission was completed Get off the ground Nov. 5.
SpaceX took the time to study two more boosters, and two Falcon 9 first-stage engines found the same lacquer traces – one on a rocket launching the Sentinel-6 Earth-tracking satellite and one on the crew-1 booster. After SpaceX Changed Affected machines.
Successful standard fire test Now under its belt, the rocket is ready to fly. Following its launch on Saturday night, SpaceX plans to launch its first phase booster on “Just Read the Instructions”, one of its two largest drone ships stationed in the Atlantic. If successful, it will mark the 65th booster recovery.
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