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NASA and SpaceX announced this week that their latest mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will be delayed from this weekend until mid-November. The Falcon 9 rocket was delayed due to further inspections needed after problems with a previous launch.
The inspections were necessary after SpaceX found a problem with the rocket’s motor that involved activating the automatic abort system after detecting two motors that tried to start too early.
“We call it a rough start,” explained Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX, at a news conference. “It is not necessarily bad. It vibrates the motor and could cause minor damage. But generally, you don’t want that. ”In fact, the investigation showed that the problem was a ridiculously small amount of red lacquer, which covered the small relief holes and thus triggered the automatic abortion.
“There is no question that rockets are difficult and require a lot of attention to detail,” Koenigsmann added. “The Rockets humble me every day that I work with them. You have to be very diligent and alert to get it right. “
Despite its initial delay, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission is still ready to launch agency astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as mission specialist from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. (JAXA), Soichi Noguchi, straight from Launch Complex 39A in Kennedy. next month.
The astronauts will join Expedition 64 crew commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and flight engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins on the ISS after participating in an extended quarantine on Earth in response to COVID. -19.
The launch is scheduled for 7:49 am HKT on Sunday, November 15. For more information or to find out how to tune in to the event online, be sure to visit the official NASA website.
See also: Tatler’s Guide to Going to Outer Space
