SpaceX, NASA tightlipped on cause of capsule incident

NASA and SpaceX remained tight-lipped yesterday about what caused a mysterious but apparently serious incident last weekend during engine tests on the Crew Dragon capsule designed to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. SpaceX said that an “anomaly” had occurred during Saturday’s ground tests at Cape Canaveral in Florida. A photo on the

Florida Today website showed large amounts of smoke pouring out of the test site, prompting speculation about a possible explosion. A video posted on Twitter showed an explosion. The video has not been authenticated, nor has SpaceX denied its veracity.

SpaceX has not issued any more details since its statement on Saturday, and NASA has referred any questions back to Elon Musk’s company. NASA’s safety advisory panel did however mention the incident during a meeting on Thursday and confirmed it was the result of firing the space vehicle’s SuperDraco engines.