Posted: Sun, Jul 23, 2017, 10:14 AM ET (1414 GMT)
SpaceX is dropping plans for powered landings of its Dragon spacecraft and revising its Mars mission architecture, Elon Musk said July 19. Musk, speaking at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Washington, said safety certification issues, as well as a change in preferred landing approaches, led him to abandon plans to have the crewed version of Dragon land using rocket engines and landing legs. Musk said that he will likely provide details on a revised version of the Mars mission plan he unveiled at last year's International Astronautical Congress at this year's conference in Australia. That plan will involve somewhat smaller vehicles that offer a better business case. Musk also lowered expectations for the first Falcon Heavy launch, planned for late this year, saying there is a "lot of risk" associated with the long-delayed vehicle.

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