Why SpaceX is delaying its first human crewed flight
The commercial spaceflight company, SpaceX, plans to send humans into space in 2018, months after the launch was originally scheduled.聽
The commercial spaceflight company, SpaceX, plans to send humans into space in 2018, months after the launch was originally scheduled.聽
The private spaceflight company SpaceX confirmed plans to delay the launch of its crewed spacecraft from 2017 to 2018, just months after a launchpad explosion destroyed an uncrewed craft and its cargo.聽
The company, which is known for its unconventional approaches to rocketry and its plans to take humans to Mars, expressed caution at a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council鈥檚 human exploration and operations committee in November. This week, NASA announced and SpaceX confirmed their plans to delay both crewed and uncrewed test flights using the Crew Dragon craft.
鈥淲e are carefully assessing our designs, systems, and processes taking into account the lessons learned and corrective actions identified,鈥� SpaceX said in a statement. 鈥淥ur schedule reflects the additional time needed for this assessment and implementation.鈥�
September鈥檚 launch pad explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket was a shock for SpaceX. The company has spent the months since the explosion reconsidering their procedures and designs.
A joint investigation conducted by SpaceX, NASA, the US Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration attributed the explosion to a problem with SpaceX鈥檚 fueling process. Unlike other spaceflight companies, SpaceX uses a cryogenic propellant, a super-chilled mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene that is intended to provide rockets with more boost than a less dense fuel could.
After the launchpad explosion, 海角大神鈥檚 Joseph Dussault reported that some experts have expressed concern in the past about SpaceX鈥檚 launch timeframe. Dussault writes:
Although the first crewed flight in a Crew Dragon craft was originally scheduled for late 2017, SpaceX now says that it expects to run an uncrewed test in November 2017. The first crewed launch is now expected to take place in May, 2018.
There are currently two companies working with NASA on its Commercial Crew program, through which commercial spaceflight companies will eventually send astronauts into space.
The other company involved in the program, Boeing, has also delayed its own flights twice, and is now expected to first send humans into space in August, 2018.