SpaceX 'perfect' test paves way for manned flights on Crew Dragon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida－SpaceX successfully tested its emergency abort system on an unmanned spacecraft moments after launch on Sunday, according to a live broadcast of the event. This was the last major test before the private operator plans to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, or ISS.

"As far as we can tell, thus far it was a picture-perfect mission," SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters at a post-launch news conference.

No humans were aboard for the wild ride in the skies above Cape Canaveral, Florida-just two mannequins.

Musk added that the first manned flight of the capsule will probably occur "in the second quarter", an event that would mark the first time in nine years that NASA astronauts have gone into space aboard a US rocket, rather than a Russian one.

The favorable outcome of the peril-filled test was good news for SpaceX and for NASA, which urgently needs to certify a vehicle to transport astronauts to the ISS this year.

"By all accounts, this was a very successful test," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.

The test launch began at 10:30 am on Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket topped by SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spacecraft. The rocket was programmed to perform as if it were launching the capsule into orbit.

One minute and 24 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 19 kilometers over the Atlantic and as the rocket was traveling at more than 1,500 km/h, an emergency escape sequence was set in motion.

The spacecraft ignited its powerful SuperDraco thrusters, propelling it away from the rocket.

Shortly after the separation, the rocket, recycled from three previous launches, disintegrated in a ball of fire, as planned.

Delayed a day by bad weather, Sunday's launch brought together hundreds of SpaceX, NASA and Air Force employees on land, at sea and in the air. Tourists and locals alike packed the adjoining visitor complex and nearby beaches to see the dramatic fiery spectacle of an out-of-control rocket. Musk brought along his own family, including his brother.

Atlantic splashdown

On a manned mission, the maneuver is designed to rescue the astronauts if the rocket has a problem on ascent or veers off course.

Crew Dragon continued its upward trajectory alone reaching an altitude of about 40 km before beginning its natural descent toward the Atlantic.

Four large parachutes opened to brake its descent and splash down in the ocean, where recovery teams were pre-positioned. Nine minutes after launch, Crew Dragon was in the water, apparently without suffering damage.

Analysis of the spacecraft and flight data will confirm whether the test came off without a hitch, and whether the spacecraft is ready for manned missions.

Since 2011, the United States has had to rely on Russia's Soyuz rockets, the only ones capable of carrying astronauts to the space station once the US retired its space shuttle fleet.

NASA has a similar contract with Boeing, which has developed the Starliner spacecraft for manned flights.

In March 2019, SpaceX completed a one-week round trip to the ISS with an unmanned Crew Dragon.

US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are slated to be on the first manned SpaceX flight which could occur as soon as April.

Xinhua