IFA Mission postpone for the Second Time by SpaceX

Recently, SpaceX postponed its scheduled abort system testing for the upcoming IFA mission by one week. The recent update from the private space entity revealed that the organization is planning to carry out the test no earlier than the 11th of January 2020.

Scientists are calling this mission as the In-Flight Abort Test (IFA), which is instrumental for the safety of the crew. Previously, the mission was about to launch in December, but the American Space Agency- NASA announced its rescheduling plan – not before the 4th of January. Therefore, the recent announcement marked the second successive delay of the important test. The launch will take place from the Kennedy Space Centre. Currently, the mission needs to get approval from the United States Air Force to carry out the launch from the station. NASA did not give any reasoning about the consecutive delays. 

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In the upcoming IFA mission, a Falcon 9 rocket will carry the Crew Dragon spacecraft into space. During the flight, the organization will trigger the abort system intentionally. As a result, the rocket will free the spacecraft in mid-air, and the spacecraft suppose to land on the surface by taking the help of a parachute. The IFA mission is instrumental for the safety of the crew. 

In 2008, a Russian-made Soyuz rocket, which was carrying a couple of astronauts from NASA, failed during the takeoff. But, thanks to the IFA system, both the astronauts landed safely from the spacecraft. 

The upcoming launch is instrumental for SpaceX, as it is the last major launch before NASA approves the space agency to fly crewed missions. Once the IFA mission is over, the spacecraft will undergo multiple static fire tests, confirms NASA. 

NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing to carry out crewed missions to the International Space Station. SpaceX already completed a successful demo test, while Boeing’s recent launch faced a massive failure to complete its objective.