First demo flight of uncrewed SpaceX Dragon capsule to take place on 2nd March

Assuming the test goes well, a crewed flight with two astronauts will be conducted in July this year

NASA has postponed the first uncrewed demo flight of SpaceX Dragon capsule. On Wednesday, NASA official announced that the test flight will now take place on 2nd March 2018, and if it goes well, a crewed flight with two astronauts may be conducted in July this year.

The Crew Dragon capsule will be launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre. Unlike Dragon cargo ships, which halt their approach just short of the International Space Station (ISS) and wait for the space station's robotic arm to pull them in for berthing, the Crew Dragon will fly all the way to the ISS and dock at a modified port at the ISS.

Five days later, it will commence its return journey to Earth. The capsule will plunge back into the atmosphere to eventually slash down in the Atlantic Ocean. The recovery teams of SpaceX will haul the capsule to shore for its post-flight examination.

"The uncrewed flight tests are a great dry run for not only our hardware, but for our team to get ready for our crewed flight tests," said Kathy Lueders, Commercial Crew Programme manager.

"NASA has been working together with SpaceX and Boeing to make sure we are ready to conduct these test flights and get ready to learn critical information that will further help us to fly our crews safely. We always learn from tests."

NASA plans to conduct an in-flight abort test in June with the same capsule.

Assuming these two tests are successful, NASA and SpaceX may conduct a piloted flight of Crew Dragon in July. This time, the capsule will carry NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the ISS. It will be the first launching of NASA astronauts into space, from American soil, since the end of shuttle programme in 2011.

Meanwhile, Boeing is also planning to conduct the first unpiloted test flight of its CST-100 Starliner capsule in April. The Starliner will be launched into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

Like the Crew Dragon capsule, the Starliner will also carry out autonomous docking with the ISS. It will depart one week later to make a landing in the western United States using airbags and parachutes.

To meet NASA's requirements, it is essential for private space companies to demonstrate that their rockets and space capsules are ready for regular crewed flights to the ISS.

After completion of unpiloted and manned test flights by SpaceX and Boeing, NASA will examine the performance data and sort out any necessary issues before certifying them for future crew rotation missions.