SpaceX To Simulate Astronaut Ejection In Final Test4Photo© firstpost.com

SpaceX To Simulate Astronaut Ejection In Final Test

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SpaceX successfully tested its emergency abort system on an unmanned spacecraft moments after launch Sunday, according to a live broadcast of the event, the last major test before it plans to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. “As far as we can tell thus far it was a picture-perfect mission,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk told reporters. He 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 Americans have gone into space aboard an American rocket, rather than a Russian one.

The favourable 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 International Space Station (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 (1530 GMT) 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.