BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA’s return to manned spaceflight may take longer than hoped. SpaceX, one of the companies tasked with helping NASA complete its mission, has confirmed testing delays.
Instead of the Dragon crew capsule blasting off in spring of 2017, it has been delayed until the second quarter of 2018, Channel 9's Melonie Holt learned. The spacecraft is one of two in NASA's commercial crew program that will ultimately ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing is building the other.
In a written statement, SpaceX told Eyewitness News:
“I don't thinks it's a surprise, particularly given the anomaly on Sept. 1. But, that and all the delay is a reflection of getting humans into space is hard. It's dangerous,” said Dale Ketcham, with Space Florida.
Even as SpaceX continues its investigation into the explosion on Sept. 1 that was associated with a breach in the cryogenic helium system, the company continues to work closely with NASA. SpaceX is assessing designs, systems and processes and taking into account the lessons learned.
“These failures in the long run reflect progress because you only learn from your failures. You don't learn that much from your success. The result is going to be better processes in the future, more safe,” Ketcham said.
The Dragon team has already completed qualification testing of the docking system and space suits, life support system testing and other areas.
“The decisions that are being made now need to be made based upon what is best judgement to go forward and if a delay is required, I'm sure everybody is happy with that,” Ketcham said.
Next year's primary focus will be wrapping up final testing of the propulsion and parachute systems, completing the build of the demo 1 vehicle and then completing the demo 1 mission.
Cox Media Group
