CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. — A mishap that SpaceX only described as an "anomaly" occurred during a static fire test of a Crew Dragon spacecraft at Cape Canaveral on Saturday that sent thick plumes of smoke into the air.
- "Anomaly" occurs during Crew Dragon static fire test
- Hazardous materials released into atmosphere; no one hurt
- 1st manned Crew Dragon mission was scheduled for July
- More Destination Space headlines
The commercial company won't say exactly what went wrong, only issuing a prepared statement that said, "Earlier today (Saturday), SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test stand at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand."
The company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is supposed to eventually transport astronauts to the International Space Station, with a demo mission planned for July. But that timetable could be in jeopardy if the Crew Dragon capsule they were to fly in was damaged.
"Ensuring that our systems meet rigorous safety standards and detecting anomalies like this prior to flight are the main reasons why we test. Our teams are investigating and working closely with our NASA partners.”
The anomaly released hazardous materials into the atmosphere, according to a pollution notice required to be publicly reported by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The report said the anomaly occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 2 p.m. EDT and ended at 4 p.m. EDT. The anomaly was contained, and there were no injuries, the FDEP report said.
"We would much rather find out about these anomalies during testing, when there are no crew on board," said Dan Batcheldor, head of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences at Florida Tech.
Later Saturday night, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on Twitter:
"NASA has been notified about the results of the @SpaceX Static Fire Test and the anomaly that occurred during the final test. We will work closely to ensure we safely move forward with our Commercial Crew Program."
SpaceX sent an unmanned Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS in March. It successfully docked for a few days and returned in a historic splashdown, an Atlantic Ocean return that had not occurred since 1969.
Now the question is, with this setback, how will it affect the crewed Dragon flight set for later this summer?
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will fly on the spacecraft to orbit.
Rep. Bill Posey of Rockledge, who worked for NASA during the Apollo program, said that SpaceX's "anomaly" shouldn't impact the launch schedule.
"There's no indication it would affect anything having to do with their schedule," he said.
But before it can happen, SpaceX has to determine what happened this past weekend.
"Finding out what went wrong, fixing it, testing it... This is the path toward progress," Batcheldor said.
Right now, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a Dragon cargo capsule to the ISS on April 30 from the Space Coast.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster is supposed to land on Landing Zone 1, where Saturday's mishap took place.