Nichols Martin
SpaceX has finished a wave of static fire tests on the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s engines in preparation for an upcoming in-flight abort demonstration.
Crew Dragon’s 16 Draco thrusters, designed for in-orbit maneuvering, each fired up for one second during the tests that took place near Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA said Wednesday.
The thrusters also work to reposition the aircraft for launch escapes that occur during flights.
Another test had eight SuperDraco engines fire at full capacity for nine seconds. These engines work to move Dragon away from the launch vehicle in post-launch emergencies.
Dragon exhibited anomalies during similar tests in April, and SpaceX has re-engineered parts of the high-flow helium pressurization system to address issues.
NASA and SpaceX will evaluate data from the recent fire tests to further plan the upcoming in-flight abort trial.
