14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) announce that they are now targeting a new launch date for the Dragon space capsule.
Originally, the technology demonstrator spacecraft was supposed to launch aboard a Falcon 9 medium-lift delivery system on October 23, Space reports.
The rocket itself had its maiden voyage on June 4, 2010, which means that the entire system is new and little-tested. Engineers at SpaceX are however confident that the new launch will be successful.
They said recently that they were able to handle the small glitches that occurred during the first Falcon 9 launch, and that all bugs should be fixed now.
However, this did not prevent the company from falling behind schedule, although delays at this stage are understandable, analysts say.
In addition to taking care of Falcon 9 and its problems, the SpaceX teams also need to make sure that the Dragon space capsule is in perfect order to fly.
If successful in its first trial runs, this spacecraft will play a critical part in the American space program, as it will be used as a resupply ship for taking cargo into low-Earth orbit, to the International Space Station (ISS).
“The upcoming test flight is much more complicated since it involves not only the Falcon 9 rocket, but also the Dragon spacecraft. So you are talking about two brand-new spacecraft,” said NASA spokesman Joshua Byerly last month.
“Our targeted launch date is moving – we've submitted a request for November 8th or 9th and are waiting for the range to complete their standard deconfliction work and provide a formal approval,” announced on September 21 Kirstin Brost, a spokeswoman for SpaceX.
The company is under a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program contract, which is worth more than a billion dollars. But it needs to get the Dragon to orbit as fast as possible in order to win the money.
NASA has also singed a COTS agreement with Orbital Sciences Corporation, which is also developing an unmanned space capsule for delivering cargo to the ISS. Whichever company reaches that objective first will win a lot of money.
The Falcon 9/Dragon mission will take off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), in Florida.