SpaceX’s Crew Dragon just aced another round of critical parachute testing.
The company announced that it wrapped up the 13th successful test in a row of Crew Dragon’s upgraded Mark 3 parachutes on Sunday, Space.com reported. According to SpaceX, the most recent test demonstrated the Crew Dragon parachute system’s ability to land the spacecraft safely in the event that one of the four core parachutes stops working.
SpaceX team has completed 13 successful tests in a row of upgraded Mark 3 parachutes for Crew Dragon. Most recent test demonstrated the parachute system’s ability to land the spacecraft safely in the unlikely event that one of the four main parachutes fails. pic.twitter.com/VJzDeS8UAG
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 3, 2019
Footage of the test, which was shared on Twitter, showed SpaceX attempting to land the Crew Dragon with a broken fourth parachute. The aim of the test was to replicate a real-life parachute failure scenario, so SpaceX representatives could see if the Crew Dragon can safely make it to the ground.
Great work by SpaceX Dragon team & Airborne! To be clear, we’ve only done 1 multi-parachute test of Mk3 design, so 9 more left to reach 10 successful tests in a row. https://t.co/Q814zVoW4S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2019
“Great work by SpaceX Dragon team & Airborne,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter. “To be clear, we’ve only done one multi-parachute test of Mk3 design, so 9 more left to reach 10 successful tests in a row.”
Sunday’s test follows SpaceX’s attempts to improve parachute designs. In May, SpaceX conducted a similar test, except, three parachutes did not work properly. Following the test, SpaceX modified each parachute’s design, providing them with a jellyfish-like shape and the use of Zylon, a special material that may be more durable than nylon, for parachute lines.
More on Geek.com:
- SpaceX Wants to Expand Its Starlink Constellation Network
- Elon Musk: SpaceX May Launch Crew Dragon Abort Test Soon
- Gaze Upon SpaceX’s Steely Starship Prototype
from Geek.com https://ift.tt/34u4iFm
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment