SpaceX ends this year on a winning note. He tested a parachute system which will be used by astronauts for one of the spacecraft. SpaceX’s parachute testing milestone is great news for NASA astronauts who are going to fly in the crewed flight.
The parachute system is a critical piece that stopped astronauts from flying. A safety system needs to be tested as many times as possible. Because that’s what keeps the astronauts safe to fly in the vehicle.
It seems SpaceX cracked the code on December 22 when parachute test got successfully completed 10 times in a row.
SpaceX’s Parachute Testing Milestone
Yesterday the team completed the 10th successful multi-chute test in a row of Crew Dragon’s upgraded Mark 3 parachute design – one step closer to safely launching and landing @NASA astronauts pic.twitter.com/nfFjnKygB4
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2019
This 10th consecutive test made Elon Musk smile. This great achievement shows that the design of the safety system is working well. The astronauts are ready to board the spacecraft. The safe launching and landing of NASA astronauts is the prime concern of SpaceX.
Once the Crew Dragon spacecraft returns back to Erath, this parachute system will be of great help to slow the descent. The current design of SpaceX’s parachute for Crew Dragon is upgraded with new materials and improved stitching.
This will improve the durability and reliability of parachute during flight. In a recent event held at SpaceX HQ, Musk told that Mark 3 parachute will complete 10 successful test. Then only the parachute system will be used for actual crewed flights.
Successful Mark 3 Design
It is to be mentioned that Mark 2 design failed in April 2019 which paved way for Mark 3 design. Mark 3 design was locked only after 12 chute tests that happened in one week. Now that this design is successful, we can expect the launch of Crew Dragon anytime next year.
Jim Bridenstine from NASA said that he strongly believed that Musk’s safety system would pass 10 successful test before the year ends. And the same happened as he predicted. He also said that Mark 3 parachutes are the best parachutes ever.
Conclusion
NASA is delighted with successful tests and expects the parachute system to exhibit consistent performance. Right from the start of this project, parachute design had so many problems that gained more attention than it should have got.
On January 11, SpaceX plans to conduct “in-flight abort test,” to make sure that emergency safeguard system is getting triggered in case of any emergency. This test is extremely crucial for crewed flights. After this test, astronauts will board the flight and start exploring the space.
