SpaceX's First Flight With Astronauts On Board May Slip to 2020
- Leaky valve in launch-abort system requires design changes
- Executive says it’ll be difficult to fly crew before year-end
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the unmanned Crew Dragon capsule on its nose sits at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 1, 2019.
Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
A leaky valve within SpaceX’s launch-abort system caused an explosion during testing three months ago and requires design changes, making it tougher for the company to fly astronauts this year as planned.
The April 20 incident at Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida destroyed a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and was a setback for the Elon Musk-led company, which has a contract to fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It’s also a blow to the U.S. government’s public-private effort to ferry Americans back into space without having to rely on Russian rockets.