Published 16:48 IST, January 19th 2020
SpaceX delays crew dragon launch test to Sunday due to bad weather
Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed a critical test launch of its Crew Dragon astronaut taxi on Jan 18 due to bad weather at the mission's launch site, as per reports.
Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed a critical test launch of its Crew Dragon astronaut taxi on January 18 due to bad weather at the mission's launch site. The next attempt will be done on Sunday, according to the company. The California based aerospace company was scheduled to launch its unpiloted Crew Dragon spacecraft on a used Falcon 9 rocket at 8am EST (1300 GMT) today from the iconic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Mission aborted due to bad weather
However, the mission was aborted due to the bad weather at the launch site, coupled with rough seas at Crew Dragon's recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean. As a part of the mission, Elon Musk’s SpaceX will be intentionally destroying of its own rockets in its final test on Saturday. This will be SpaceX's last major hurdle before it can fly NASA astronauts from US soil. The launch is scheduled to take off during a short 4-hour window.
This final test will determine if SpaceX and their astronaut capsule will qualify to be able to ferry humans to the International Space Station. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expects to be able to send humans into space as early as mid-2020. The US's attempts to revive spaceflight has experienced many years of development and delays. Ever since NASA terminated its shuttle program in 2011, it has been using Russian spacecraft in order to send its astronauts into space and the International Space Station.
Updated 16:48 IST, January 19th 2020