SpaceX just took a significant step in its mission to ferry astronauts to space. The commercial aerospace manufacturer has successfully completed a vital test of launch escape system of its latest Crew Dragon capsule. During the trial, on Sunday, SpaceX has purposefully smashed one of its rockets as a part of the test. Finally, after months of expectancy, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has reached its eventual major milestone in a long-term testing schedule. The victory sets the stage for astronauts to start using the space vehicle for journeys to the ISS. The launch took place on Sunday at 10:30 am ET from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. After around 84 seconds, the capsule purposely expelled itself from the rocket to pretend how it could protect passengers if something goes wrong during launch.
Notably, the Capsule did not include any crew members during the flight. IFA or in-flight abort test remained the last crucial obstacle for SpaceX. Indeed, it was essential for the company to clear afore starting carrying astronauts to and from the ISS. Well, Sunday’s launch arrives after the company scrubbed a launch scheduled on Saturday. Marie Lewis, a NASA representative, said it is the first-ever escape system. As per the executive, SpaceX’s latest mission aimed to initiate a launch escape briefly after takeoff and show the capsule’s potential to detach separately from the rocket in the dubious event of a mid-flight emergency.
On the other hand, Kathy Lueders, commercial crew program manager of NASA, said IFA was their last crucial milestone. She also noted that the crewed mission to the ISS could take place as early as March. Crew Dragon splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean around 10 minutes after the launch. Well, SpaceX is not the first commercial company to design and test a crew capsule. Last year, Boeing had launched a pad abort test of its Starliner spacecraft. Thus, both Boeing and SpaceX are preparing to launch their first-ever crewed missions by the end of the year.
