Watch SpaceX test its explosive emergency astronaut escape plan at 7AM ET
SpaceX is in the middle of a very busy year. The company has launched five of its Falcon 9 rockets — which matches the amount sent into space in all of 2014 — and it’s getting closer and closer to landing the first reusable rocket stage ever. The next test of that system won’t come until June, but today the company has an important test of a different kind. SpaceX will test its “pad abort” system, the company’s back-up plan in case of a launchpad emergency when it attempts to send astronauts to the International Space Station in a few years.
The pad abort test will last just 107 seconds, and SpaceX will fire eight “SuperDraco” engines (which we saw the company test back in March) for just six of those seconds. NASA will provide…
Source:: The Verge
