Bad Weather Delays SpaceX Crew Dragon Escape Test

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SpaceX was scheduled to launch a safety test for the Crew Dragon, a crucial one for the private space agency. However, the SpaceX Crew Dragon escape test has been rescheduled to January 19. Bad weather around the mission launch site in Florida has forced SpaceX to postpone the safety test.

 
SpaceX Crew Dragon Escape Test Rescheduled

SpaceX Reschedules Test

The Elon Musk-run space company was scheduled to launch the unpiloted Crew Dragon spacecraft using the Falcon 9 rocket today, January 18. The launch was supposed to take off from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

 

The bad weather at the launch site and also at the Crew Dragon's recovery zone at the sea pushed for a delay. SpaceX updated the delay and postponement of the escape test on its official Twitter handle. The space company said that "due to sustained winds and rough seas in the recovery area" have promoted SpaceX to delay the test.

Instead, SpaceX has rescheduled the Crew Dragon Escape Test. "Now targeting Sunday, January 19, with a six-hour test window opening at 8:00 AM EST, 13:00 UTC," SpaceX said in its tweet.

SpaceX Crew Dragon Escape Test

The SpaceX Crew Dragon escape test is aimed to check the spacecraft's SuperDraco-powered abort system. The system is designed to pull the capsule free of the Falcon 9 rocket during a launch emergency. Initially, SpaceX had planned the liftoff for 8 AM EST for the four-hour launch window. However, SpaceX cautioned that bad weather might prompt it to extend the time frame.

The abort system test didn't have any NASA astronauts onboard. But it intended to "demonstrate Crew Dragon's ability to reliably carry crew to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency on the ascent," SpaceX wrote in an official statement.

The new launch is set to take place tomorrow (January 19) at 7:40 AM EST (6:10 PM IST). The SpaceX launch test can be viewed on various live streaming sites including the SpaceX website and the NASA official site.

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