spacetoday.net: SpaceX performs Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

Posted: Mon, Jan 20, 2020, 8:45 PM ET (0145 GMT)
SpaceX Crew Dragon in-flight abort illustration (NASA)

SpaceX successfully carried out an in-flight abort test of its Crew Dragon spacecraft Sunday. A Falcon 9 carrying the spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 10:30 am EST (1530 GMT) and, 84 seconds later, the spacecraft fired its SuperDraco thrusters to pull away from the rocket, simulating a launch abort. The spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic about nine minutes after liftoff. NASA and SpaceX said that the test appeared to be "picture perfect," but that data collected during the test will be analyzed in the weeks to come. The test is one of the last major ones for the spacecraft before the Demo-2 crewed test flight to the International Space Station that may take place in the second quarter of this year.