SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has been raised to vertical at Launch Complex 40 and is being prepared for a tanking test in advance of an engine test that could come as early as Saturday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station."Following its mate to the transporter erector, Falcon 9 was rolled from the integration hangar to the launch pad where final checks of the pad hydraulic and pneumatic systems were completed," said a statement from SpaceX.
"Falcon 9 is undergoing a checkout of the critical flight connections including fuel, liquid oxygen and gas pressure systems. Once all system interfaces are verified, the SpaceX launch team will execute a full tanking test of both first and second stages followed by a brief static fire of the first stage.
"SpaceX has not set specific dates for wet dress or static fire as schedule will be driven by the satisfactory completion of all test objectives and a thorough review of the data."
SpaceX, based in California, is the leading contender to develop a commercial rocket to carry cargo to the space station. The Falcon 9, however, has never flown.
Photo by Chris Thompson/SpaceX
1 comment:
Wow.. this is impressive. whew weee.. were going to use this to take men into space someday... biy what will we think of next.. men in space,, thats crazy.. men can't go to space...
I heard of a few guys with a nickname.. something like the mecury 7, or the right stuff.. they are test pilots and they volunteered to fly on this thing one day..
maybe one day we can go to the moon, or have a ship that can fly like an airplane and be reused over and over again.. wow.. this is inspiring.. Our government should be proud.. America should be proud..
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