Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Jul 8, 2019 17:43:06 GMT 2
(.#244).- A SpaceX Dragon capsule destroyed, confirms an American senator.
A SpaceX Dragon capsule totally destroyed, confirms an American senator.
By the Figaro with AFP - Published 01/05/2019 at 22:02
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule exploded on April 20, 2019, during a ground test at the Kennedy Space Center, a US senator said Wednesday, questioning what NASA calls an "anomaly."
"SpaceX's most recent anomaly caused the capsule to be completely lost," said Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of a Senate committee managing NASA's budget, at a hearing. The senator then asked NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine if, "as tradition dictates, when vehicles are lost, NASA will conduct its own independent investigation." The NASA chief responded that the space agency was investigating "jointly" with SpaceX. "So it's not strictly an independent inquiry?" Continued the senator. "It's not strictly an independent inquiry," Jim Bridenstine was forced to admit.
The April 20 accident is a bigger problem than the space agency has recognized so far. Neither SpaceX nor NASA officially recognized that it was an explosion, claiming the ongoing investigation. But a cloud of smoke was photographed above the site, and an internal video of the explosion leaked, anonymously, on Twitter, causing a call to the Nasa internal order that indirectly confirmed its authenticity.
The Crew Dragon capsule is expected to become one of two NASA space taxis for the International Space Station by the end of the year. The first manned flight, with two astronauts, was planned before the end of the year. The copy that exploded April 20, during the test of its thrusters, was to be launched by a rocket in the coming months during a full-scale test of the emergency system, which should allow to return to Earth if never the rocket had a problem.
SpaceX and NASA must urgently discover the cause of the explosion, and the company of Elon Musk must also build a new copy of the capsule to replace the one that exploded. All this calls into question the goal of revolving American astronauts from the United States in 2019, which Jim Bridenstine, in early March, still guaranteed "100%".
F I N .
A SpaceX Dragon capsule totally destroyed, confirms an American senator.
By the Figaro with AFP - Published 01/05/2019 at 22:02
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule exploded on April 20, 2019, during a ground test at the Kennedy Space Center, a US senator said Wednesday, questioning what NASA calls an "anomaly."
"SpaceX's most recent anomaly caused the capsule to be completely lost," said Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of a Senate committee managing NASA's budget, at a hearing. The senator then asked NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine if, "as tradition dictates, when vehicles are lost, NASA will conduct its own independent investigation." The NASA chief responded that the space agency was investigating "jointly" with SpaceX. "So it's not strictly an independent inquiry?" Continued the senator. "It's not strictly an independent inquiry," Jim Bridenstine was forced to admit.
The April 20 accident is a bigger problem than the space agency has recognized so far. Neither SpaceX nor NASA officially recognized that it was an explosion, claiming the ongoing investigation. But a cloud of smoke was photographed above the site, and an internal video of the explosion leaked, anonymously, on Twitter, causing a call to the Nasa internal order that indirectly confirmed its authenticity.
The Crew Dragon capsule is expected to become one of two NASA space taxis for the International Space Station by the end of the year. The first manned flight, with two astronauts, was planned before the end of the year. The copy that exploded April 20, during the test of its thrusters, was to be launched by a rocket in the coming months during a full-scale test of the emergency system, which should allow to return to Earth if never the rocket had a problem.
SpaceX and NASA must urgently discover the cause of the explosion, and the company of Elon Musk must also build a new copy of the capsule to replace the one that exploded. All this calls into question the goal of revolving American astronauts from the United States in 2019, which Jim Bridenstine, in early March, still guaranteed "100%".
F I N .
