Space Exploration Technologies were forced to postpone the flight of rocket Falcon 9 and the capsule Dragon planned for Tuesday because of technical issues. The two were supposed to run cargoes to the International Space Station (ISS) after NASA space shuttles are decommissioned in 2012.
The problems that led to flight cancelation are what appear to be fissures in the nozzle of the rocket’s motor. The technical issues are not estimated to be fixed before Thursday at best, according to the company’s president Gwynne Shotwell. She added that, should a nozzle replacement be needed, a launch would not be attempted before Friday or even Saturday.
This flight is supposed to be the first one, out of a total of three test runs that are supposed to verify if Falcon 9 and Dragon can carry NASA’s cargos to the International Space Station. For its debut, Dragon is to be placed on an orbit at 185 miles above the planet surface, at a 34.5 degree angle compared to the equator, and not go near the ISS, which lies on an orbit at 51.6 degree angle, 220 miles up.
Once in orbit, the capsule is to run preset commands to test its components and navigation system, as well as other critical flight equipment, before firing its rockets to exit orbit. Should all go according to plan, Dragon is to parachute back some 500 miles away from Mexico into the Pacific Ocean.
NASA contributed 278 million dollars for Falcon 9 and Dragon, but it buffered the failed launch’s impact saying that it was only a test run and that obstacles were to be expected.
Space Exploration Technologies is just one of the companies that are to deliver shipments to the ISS. Together with Orbital Sciences Corp. it shares contracts of roughly 3.5 billion dollars. If all goes well, deliveries should start in December next year.
