Spacex Successfully Test Fires Engines

SPACEX ON MONDAY, APRIL 30, SPACEX WEBCAST A STATIC FIRE TEST OF THE FALCON 9 ROCKETS NINE POWERFUL MERLIN ENGINES IN PREPARATION FOR THE COMPANYS UPCOMING LAUNCH. ENGINES RAN FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE A PLANNED ABORT. THE TEST PAVES THE WAY FOR A FULL LAUNCH OF THE VEHICLE ON MAY 7TH.Following a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket's nine powerful Merlin engines test-fire of its yesterday, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will conduct a thorough review of all data as engineers make final preparations for the upcoming launch, currently targeted for May 7.The 9 engine test took place at the company's Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as part of a full launch dress rehearsal leading up to the second Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) launch. During the rehearsal, SpaceX engineers ran through all countdown processes as though it were launch day. The exercise ended with all nine engines firing at full power for two seconds.At that time, SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket. During the mission, Dragon's sensors and flight systems will be subject to a series of tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station. If NASA decides Dragon is ready, the vehicle will attach to the station and astronauts will open Dragon's hatch and unload the cargo onboard.This will be the first attempt by a commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, a feat previously performed by only a few governments.READ MORE...For the latest please visit www.33rdsquare.com

Posted in aliens,spaceflight,spacex No comments