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SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in ground test

Flames engulfed the capsule half-a-second before the launch-abort thrusters were due to fire.
Flames engulfed the capsule half-a-second before the launch-abort thrusters were due to fire. Flames engulfed the capsule half-a-second before the launch-abort thrusters were due to fire.

SpaceX has confirmed its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago.

A company vice president told reporters it was too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the capsule’s March space flight contributed to the failure.

Flames engulfed the capsule half-a-second before the launch-abort thrusters were due to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the test stand at Cape Canaveral, Florida, because of toxic fuel contamination.

But vice president Hans Koenigsmann said the cargo version of the Dragon capsule was safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early on Friday morning.

The flight was delayed by a power problem that occurred at the station on Monday and was fixed on Thursday.