HONG KONG: This week, SpaceX performed its pad abort test for its Dragon capsule at Cape Canaveral. While the test seemed to go off without a hitch, initially there was little word from the company about exactly how it went. Now, SpaceX has confirmed that while the test itself was a success, there is still plenty of room for improvement to prepare the capsule to fly astronauts too the International Space Station within two years.
For the abort test on Wednesday, the Dragon fired eight SuperDraco engines to see how it would escape from a launch pad emergency. The engines have been designed to allow astronauts to land the craft powered on land or sea.
Overall, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was happy with the results of the test. He said that the test showed the Dragon’s ability to carry science payloads to the moon, Mars, the Jovian moon Europa and other places across the solar system.
“When boosted on a Falcon Heavy (rocket), it can pretty much go anywhere. So we’re kind of excited about exploring that possibility”, affirmed Musk.
Sometime later this year or early next year, SpaceX plans to launch the Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A. The heavy lift rocket will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle and will generation 4.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. According to Musk, the Dragon has a combination of a heat shield and parachutes and is not only intended to fly astronauts, but also serve as a “generalized science delivery platform.”
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