Today, SpaceX is test-firing the engines of its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for that oft-delayed May 7th launch for its Dragon capsule. You possibly can watch the static-fire test from the relief of your personal desk by pointing a browser on the company website (link below) from 2:30pm ET / 11:30am PT. If successful, then the rocket will lift-off properly in a week's time, with designs on being the primary commercial craft used to resupply the International Space Station.
SPACEX TO WEBCAST STATIC FIRE FOR UPCOMING MISSION ON MONDAY
Mission Would Make SpaceX the 1st Commercial Company to aim to Send a Spacecraft to the International Space Station
Hawthorne, CA – On Monday, April 30, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will webcast a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket's nine powerful Merlin engines in preparation for the company's upcoming launch.
The webcast, available at spacex.com, is ready to start at 2:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM PT, with the true static fire targeted for three:00 PM ET/ 12:00 PM PT.
The 9 engine test will happen on the company's Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as portion of an entire launch dress rehearsal leading as much as the second one Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) launch. In the course of the rehearsal, SpaceX engineers will run through all countdown processes as if it were launch day. The exercise will end with all nine engines firing at full power for 2 seconds.
After the test, SpaceX will conduct a radical review of all data as engineers make final preparations for the approaching launch, currently targeted for May 7. SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. In the course of the mission, Dragon's sensors and flight systems might be subject to a chain of tests to come to a decision if the vehicle is able to berth with the distance station. If NASA decides Dragon is set, the vehicle will attach to the station and astronauts will open Dragon's hatch and unload the cargo onboard.
This will likely be the 1st attempt by a commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, a feat previously performed by just a few governments. Success is absolutely not guaranteed. If any aspect of the mission will never be successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and take a look at again. Additionally it is the second one demonstration flight under NASA's program to develop commercial supply services to the International Space Station. The primary SpaceX COTS flight, in December 2010, made SpaceX the 1st commercial company in history to send a spacecraft to orbit and return it safely to Earth. Once SpaceX demonstrates the power to hold cargo to the distance station, it'll start to fulfill its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract for NASA for a minimum of 12 missions to hold cargo to and from the gap station. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were designed to 1 day carry astronauts; both the COTS and CRS missions will yield valuable flight experience toward this goal.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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