During the test of the emergency engines of the ship Crew Dragon an accident occurred

In March 2019, SpaceX successfullyDocked its Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. In the future, the company plans to conduct a manned flight consisting of two astronauts, and therefore conducts thorough tests of the rocket, hoping to identify and fix all the important problems. Recently, the company tested the SuperDraco emergency engines and, apparently, a malfunction was discovered in them - eyewitnesses noticed that there was smoke in the test area.

SpaceX representatives confirmed that duringtesting engine really had an accident. Fire tests were held at Cape Canaveral in the United States - fortunately, no one was injured as a result of the emergency. It is noteworthy that the first part of the test went smoothly, but then something inexplicable happened - visitors to the beach near Cape Canaveral noticed orange clouds of smoke.

To find out the cause of the accident, the company SpaceXteamed up with experts from the NASA space agency. Apparently, the source of the smoke was a SuperDraco engine fire - nitrogen tetroxide is used as an oxidizer, and monomethylhydrazine, which are ignited on contact, acts as a fuel.

According to NASA director Jim Brydenstein,thanks to such trials, they manage to identify problems before they cause severe damage. At this time, no one was hurt, but do not be this test, in the future, because of an undetected problem, astronauts could die.

It is noteworthy that the manned launch of the Crew Dragon can be postponed to November 2019. The reasons for the transfer date can be found in our material.

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