NASA and SpaceX: Could FAILED Dragon parachute test spell trouble for Elon Musk?

If SpaceX can guarantee the safety of NASA astronauts onboard the Crew Dragon capsule, the US space agency will cut its reliance on Russian Soyuz rocket launches. But the California-based SpaceX has so far failed to tick all of the boxes on NASA’s extensive list of safety requirements for the Dragon. A recent parachute test simulating atmospheric reentry has failed to properly deploy the Dragon’s four parachutes. The parachute failure has caused the Dragon to plummet to the ground much faster than anticipated.

The Dragon test was unmanned but a NASA chief has confirmed on May 8 the technical hiccup left the spacecraft damaged.

Bill Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, addressed concerns regarding SpaceX at a meeting of the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

The NASA chief said: “The test was not satisfactory. We did not get the results we wanted but we learned some information that’s going to affect, potentially, future designs.”

The case of failure has not been identified yet but Mr Gerstenmaier said one of the parachutes deliberately failed to test the capsule under stress.

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The other three parachutes did not open fully, however, which Mr Gerstenmaier said caused damage “upon impact with the ground”.

SpaceX Crew Dragon is a modified version of the Cargo Dragon capsule, designed to ferry astronauts back and forth to the International Space Station (ISS).

In March this year, SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon into space and safely docked it to the ISS for five days.

The Crew Dragon then swiftly de-orbited back to Earth where it splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.

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NASA hailed SpaceX for its contrition to the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “Our Commercial Crew Program is one step closer to launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.

“I am proud of the great work that has been done to get us to this point.”

But with the recent mishap, could SpaceX’s parachute failure throw a spanner in the works for the rocket builder?

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According to Mr Gerstenmaier’s testimony, technical errors and failures are part of the testing process.

He told the hearing: “I don’t see this as a negative. This is why we test. This is why we push things.

“This is part of the learning process. By these failures, we’re going to learn the data and the information to affect the design and end up with a safer for our crews.”

NASA has partnered with SpaceX and Boeing to cut down the costs of space travel and return rocket launches from Russian hands back to American soil.

source: express.co.uk