SpaceX Crew Dragon: first astronaut mission may take place this summer
Static fire test moves company one step closer to practice launch next month

SpaceX is on course to send astronauts to the International Space Station in the summer after it completed a successful fire-up test on Thursday.
The US aerospace firm confirmed in a tweet that it had conducted a “static fire test”, in which the rocket’s engines are fired but the vehicle does not take off, of its Crew Dragon space craft at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The test took place at Launch Complex 39A, the “historic” site where Nasa’s Apollo missions and Space Shuttle programme launched from.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Though SpaceX said the test had been completed, suggesting few - if any - problems, CBS reporter William Harwood claims the firing “did not run full duration” and a retest may be scheduled in the coming days.
SpaceX is widely believed to be targeting an unmanned launch of its Crew Dragon capsule aboard one of its Falcon 9 rockets on 16 February, according to Ars Technica.
However, company insiders told the tech news site that the mission may take place a week later.
If all goes well, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in an emoji-filled tweet that the company will be on course to send two Nasa astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon to the ISS as early as this summer.
The crew module is based on the aerospace firm’s Dragon capsule, which has been used on 16 Nasa missions to deliver food and equipment to astronauts aboard the ISS.
It’s hoped that the capsule can be used to replace the ageing Russian Soyuz vehicle, a 50-year-old spacecraft currently used to ferry astronauts to the ISS, The Guardian explains.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is the Trump-Putin bromance over... again?
Today's Big Question The US president has admitted he's 'p*ssed off' with his opposite number
-
Jurassic World Rebirth: enjoyable sequel hampered by plot holes
Talking Point The latest dinosaur reboot captures the essence of the original – but leans too heavily on 'CGI-heavy set pieces'
-
Will James Gunn's risky Superman movie pay off?
Talking Point First film in DC's rebooted universe marks a new direction for the franchise
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on X
Speed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Another Starship blast sets back Musk's Mars hopes
Speed Read Nobody was killed in the explosion, which occurred in south Texas
-
What Elon Musk's Grok AI controversy reveals about chatbots
In the Spotlight The spread of misinformation is a reminder of how imperfect chatbots really are
-
Elon Musk's SpaceX has created a new city in Texas
Under The Radar Starbase is home to SpaceX's rocket launch site
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Musk vs. Altman: The fight over OpenAI
Feature Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion takeover bid for OpenAI
-
Elon Musk's DOGE website has gotten off to a bad start
In the Spotlight The site was reportedly able to be edited by anyone when it first came online
-
What Trump's 'tech bros' want
The Explainer Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had 'prime seats' at the president's inauguration. What are they looking to gain from Trump 2.0?