SpaceX completes static fire test ahead of first private astronaut mission to ISS

SpaceX on Wednesday completed a static fire test ahead of its launch of the first-ever private mission to the International Space Station, Axiom-1.

The mission, dubbed Axiom-1, will see a crew of four citizens strap into a Crew Dragon capsule and blast off on a 10-day flight where they will conduct a number of research investigation onboard the orbital outpost.

The launch, scheduled for Friday at 11:17 a.m. EDT, will see a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will blast off from Pad 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Less than 24-hours later, at 6:45 a.m. EDT, the capsule will dock itself to the space station.

Weather officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station currently predict there's an 80% chance of favorable weather for launch on Friday, but teams continue to monitor the weather all along the launch corridor.

A cold front is expected to move in overnight, bringing with it potential for upper level winds and iffy weather along the rocket's trajectory. SpaceX said teams will ensure the booster can make a safe landing, and that the crew is able to abort safely if an anomaly pops up during flight.

To ensure the rocket was ready to fly, SpaceX on Wednesday briefly fired up the Falcon 9's first stage engines while holding the rocket in place.

This type of test allows engineers to review data collected from the vehicle's various systems, with the rocket company confirming it is ready to launch.

Earlier that morning, the Axiom-1 crew of Michael LÃ³pez-AlegrÃa, a retired NASA astronaut; Larry Connor, a real estate and technology entrepreneur; Mark Pathy, a Canadian businessman; and Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli entrepreneur and former fighter jet pilot, ran through day of launch procedures.

Called a dry dress, the crew practiced the steps they would complete on launch day, including suiting up and strapping into the rocket.

Up next for the Axiom mission will be a launch readiness review on Thursday. This will be the determining factor for whether the mission gets the final green light to proceed with launch day activities.

The mission has faced myriad delays, including a several-day wait for NASA to carry out prelaunch testing on its next mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System, which sits on an adjacent launch pad.

That test ran into several anomalies, resulting in the teams pausing the testing long enough for Axiom-1 to get off the ground. That's mainly because Axiom-1 is a 10-day mission that will fly to the ISS.

The space station has a variety of docking ports that are meant to support different types of vehicles.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft happens to be fully autonomous, able to park itself at one of two specialized docking ports designed to fit this specific spacecraft. Currently, the other empty space is occupied by the current crew residing on the ISS.

Axiom-1 needs to complete its mission before NASA's next crew of astronauts -- NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren, along with Italian astronaut Samatha Cristoforetti -- can launch on their own six-month mission.

Dubbed Crew-4, the mission is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than April 20. NASA is hoping to get the Crew-4 astronauts on station and acquainted with their surrounding before sending the Crew-3 astronauts home at the end of April.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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SpaceX to test-fire rocket ahead of Axiom-1 private astronaut mission
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 1, 2021
SpaceX plans to test-fire a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday ahead of its first private astronaut mission, Axiom-1, to the International Space Station. The test, dubbed a static fire test, is a routine part of prelaunch procedures. All nine of the Falcon's Merlin 1D engines will briefly fire up as the rocket is held firmly to the launch pad. The ignition will enable engineers to ensure that the rocket's systems are ready to launch. If the test goes as planned, SpaceX will attempt to laun ... read more