14 DAY TRIAL // The planned November 20 launch of the Falcon 9 medium-lift delivery system carrying the Dragon unmanned space capsule has been delayed by more than two weeks, to December 7, announce officials from the private company that constructed the two spacecrafts.
Under a contract with NASA, Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) needs to demonstrate that its space capsule can go to low-Earth orbit, and complete several rotations around the planet.
This needs to be done this year, but glitches and other technical problems have delayed the planned launch of the Dragon capsule several times in the past few months. Matter are made even worse by the fact that SpaceX now needs to manage two spacecraft.
Its Falcon 9 rocket took off on its maiden flight on June 4, 2010, and it now needs to fly again, this time carrying the capsule as well. The corporation needs to prove that it can achieve separation and orbital insertion.
Once in the sky, Dragon will need to perform at least 4 orbits around the planet, during which time its controllers need to demonstrate various capabilities, such as trajectory control, engine firing, maneuvering abilities and so on.
This is essential if the company wants to prolong its contract with the American space agency. NASA is looking for private corporations to aid it in delivering supplies, spare parts and fuel to the International Space Station (ISS).
At this point, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation are the leading candidates in securing the contract, but they are in direct competition with each others. Both companies are developing rockets and unmanned capsules.
SpaceX has big plans for the future. Officials at the company say that they eventually want to reconvert the Dragon into a manned spacecraft, capable of carrying astronauts to the ISS, Space reports.
With the retirement of the American shuttles scheduled for June 2011, the United States will remain without any possibility of accessing the ISS directly. It will have to rely on Russia for transport on its Soyuz space capsules.
The entire purpose of the COTS contracts, under which the two corporations compete, is to reduce the gap between the shuttle retirement and when private access to space becomes possible.
“SpaceX is targeting December 7th for the first-ever fight of our Dragon spacecraft, with the 8th and 9th as backup dates. e are submitting our request to the [U.S.] Air Force today,” said in a statement SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost.