SpaceX Crew Dragon test firing results in cloud of smoke, called 'anomaly'

A cloud of smoke was seen at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday, which SpaceX and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine described as an "anomaly" that occurred during a test firing of the Crew Dragon capsule's thrusters. Bridenstine tweeted that the nation's planned space missions with crews will move forward safely. The test firing was a preliminary event leading to a return to manned launches from the United States, which hasn't happened since the last space shuttle lifted off in 2011. The smoke was first reported by Florida Today, which had a photographer shooting a surf fest nearby in Cocoa Beach. "This is why we test," Bridenstine said in a tweet about the test firing. Neither SpaceX nor NASA gave immediate updates on the status of the capsule, which was scheduled for its first flight with a crew this year. SpaceX in a statement to UPI said, "Ensuring that our systems meet rigorous safety standards and detecting anomalies like this prior to flight are the main reasons why we test. Our teams are investigating and working closely with our NASA partners." SpaceX calls Dragon "a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations." Currently Dragon has been carrying cargo to space, but it was designed from the beginning to carry humans. The first demonstration flight under NASA's Commercial Crew Program launched on March 2. The spacecraft successfully docked with the space station. The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond.

Toward the base of the capsule and contained within the nose cone are the Draco thrusters, which allow for orbital maneuvering. It was those thrusters that were being test-fired Saturday.

Jim Williams, spokesman for the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, said in a statement the anomaly "was contained and there were no injuries."

NASASpaceflight.com reported that significant delays, if they occur, might threaten to throw NASA's entire crew program into doubt because Boeing Starliner, a competing program, also is dealing with setbacks.

NASA has been relying on multimillion-dollar paid seats on Russia's Soyuz rocket and capsule to get to the International Space Station for years.

Technicians Ensure James Webb Space Telescope's Sunshield Survives Stresses Experienced During Liftoff

The sound associated with a rocket launch creates extreme vibrations that can adversely affect any satellite or observatory, so engineers put spacecraft through simulations to ensure they will remain operational. In this photo, technicians delicately inspect stowed sunshield membranes of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope on the forward side of the spacecraft. Acoustic testing exposes the spacecraft to similar forces and stress experienced during liftoff, allowing engineers to better prepare it for the rigors of spaceflight. The sunshield separates the observatory into a hot, sun-facing side (reaching temperatures close to 230 degrees Fahrenheit), and a cold side (approximately minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit) where the sunlight is blocked from interfering with the sensitive telescope instruments. The James Webb Space Telescope will be the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries of our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.

Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Arianegroup tests innovative technology for next generation upper stage rocket engine

A full-scale demonstrator of the thrust chamber for an upper-stage rocket engine incorporating the newest propulsion technologies has successfully passed first hot firing tests at the DLR German Aerospace Center P3.2 test facility in Lampoldshausen. The Expander-cycle Technology Integrated Demonstrator, ETID, will help to prove innovative technologies, materials and manufacturing techniques. It is tested in the frame of ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, aiming to increase the future competitiveness of European launchers by creating ready-made technical solutions, which can be transferred for quick development projects with minimal cost, effort and risk. Different technologies and methods of manufacture have been tested, such as additive manufacturing, laser ignition and cost-efficient materials. In addition, components will be tested to lay the foundations for a future 'smart' engine. Upper-stage engines operate in specific conditions such as vacuum and weightlessness that are difficult to reproduce on the ground, and involve significant development risks that have to be mitigated.

By the end of the year, ETID will have been hot fired up to 20 times, each test run lasting 120 seconds, in conditions similar to those in space, with a near-vacuum provided by the test stand.

Next to ArianeGroup in Germany, the prime contractor of this programme, other European partners like GKN Aerospace in Sweden, APP in the Netherlands, Safran Aero Boosters in Belgium and Carinthian Tech Research in Austria have, all provided hardware components for these demonstrator tests.