SpaceX postpones expected launch of AX-3 to adjust technical and safety details

Aerospace Transportation Company spacex Its launch was postponed to this Wednesday, January 17 Third manned commercial mission till International Space Station To allow more time for pre-flight data review. The mission was handed over, with a new date forecast for Thursday axiom space based in houstonFinal analysis is awaited.

Decision to reschedule takeoff from historic platform 39A of Kennedy Space Center At 4:49 pm EST on Thursday, January 18, this was due to two determined issues that project engineers were evaluating: Concern over “energy modulating” straps on Crew Dragon parachute and castings of the connectors that hold this capsule to the upper stage falcon 9 rocket,

as stated benji reedSenior Director of Human Spaceflight Program spacexanalysis of one cargo dragon The unmanned aircraft recently returned from the space station has revealed something special. Doubts about expected performance of belts, The folds of these straps, designed to separate in a controlled manner when the parachute deployed, appeared tendency to falter In such a way that the load increased slightly, although not to the extent of causing problems.

These concerns led to the need for adjustment and replacement of specific components as a preventive measure, prior to defining A. New date for liftoff, now scheduled for Thursday at 4:49 pm EST from Kennedy Space Center, “Crew safety is always our top priority and we will launch only when we are ready.”,

Engineers concluded that the belts could have twisted during installation, contributing to their breakage. Regarding connectors, reed Mentioned that adjustments were made with some torque level Slightly different than specified.

The connectors were replaced out of “extreme caution”. “We will be completing our launch preparations review, which will give us a chance to review all the data and finalize everything for flight.”he indicated reed, “Crew safety is always our top priority and we will launch only when we are ready,” he posted. CBSNews.

aerospace company The company owned by Elon Musk was preparing for this falcon 9 rocket for a business trip to International Space Station (ISS), The international team included former NASA astronauts Michael Lopez-AlegríaItalian co-pilot Walter ViladeiAstronaut European Space Agency Markus Wandt from sweden and Alpar Gezervasi from Turkey, had already done countdown rehearsals as part of their training.

was part of the flight axiom spacea company based in houston Want to gain experience in space flight from an operational perspective commercial space station after the return of ISS, lopez-alegriaDual American and Spanish national and one of America’s most experienced astronauts, he commanded the first commercial mission axiomatic till ISS In April 2022.

The three mission partners are former European military personnel with experience in flying and management. wandet And Gezeravci Will debut in space with this mission Viladei had already made a suborbital trip with Virgin Galactic,

If takeoff had occurred as scheduled, AX-3 would have docked with the ISS on Friday, January 19, the number of members at the station was temporarily increased to 11. After delays, members of the mission axe-3 They are expected to conduct more than 30 experiments focused on the study Effect of weightlessness on physical and cognitive parameters The duration of the stay will be approximately two weeks.

take lucyChief Scientist of axiomaticassures that this mission “The first entirely European, with four astronauts from the continent representing their countries and the European Space Agency”, A shocking fact and Very representative, is that the Italian company Barilla supplies ready-to-eat pasta hot and tasty As part of efforts to develop more delicious food for future astronauts.

This will be the twelfth trip of the class spacex crew dragonincluding previous missions sponsored by pot and for commercial flights axiomaticas well as an Earth orbital mission funded by technology entrepreneurs jared isaacman,