INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SpaceX is closing out the year with an achievement that should help it keep on track to fly astronauts on board one of its spacecraft next
The Elon Musk-led space company finished its tenth consecutive successful parachute system test yesterday, an important safety system
milestone that should be a good indication that the latest design is just about ready for use with astronauts on board.
The parachute system
is what used to slow the descent of SpaceX Crew Dragon commercial astronaut spacecraft on its return trip to Earth, once it enters the
The current design is the third major iteration of SpaceX parachute for Crew Dragon, featuring upgraded materials and improved stitching for
the best possible reliability and durability during flight.
Yesterday the team completed the 10th successful multi-chute test in a row of
Crew Dragon upgraded Mark 3 parachute design & one step closer to safely launching and landing @NASA astronauts
pic.twitter.com/nfFjnKygB4
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2019
Earlier this year, at an event hosted at SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, Calif.,
Musk told media and fans in attendance that the Mark 3 parachute system would need at least 10 successful tests in a row before the company
would feel confident about using it for actual crewed flights
At the time, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also said he believed SpaceX could achieve all 10 before the year was out, and now it has
indeed hit that mark.
Currently, SpaceX plans to fly its next major step toward crewed flight on January 11: That the current target for its
&in-flight abort test,& a required launch that will test the emergency safeguard system that can be triggered mid-launch to carry the crew
away from the launch vehicle and to safety in case of anything going wrong that might potentially put them in danger.
