NASA and SpaceX officially postpone the launch of the Crew-13 manned mission to the International Space Station due to the discovery of an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The technical malfunction was recorded during the standard pre-launch inspection and maintenance of the capsule.
Details of the incident and transfer
The reason for the delay: A leak of nitrogen tetroxide was detected in the propulsion system of the Dragon ship (NTO) – highly toxic and aggressive oxidizer, which is used for the Draco maneuvering engines and the SuperDraco emergency rescue system. Due to the danger of fuel components, experts conduct an in-depth analysis of the data, insulating seals are checked and the scope of necessary repairs is assessed.
New start date: Initially, the launch was planned for 12 September 2026 year. Currently, the mission is delayed indefinitely - a new target date will be announced on the official NASA blog after all inspections are completed and the defect is fixed.
Mission crew: Four astronauts are to go to the ISS on board the ship, who will join the 75th long expedition:
Jessica Watkins (NASA) — mission commander;
Luke Delaney (NASA) - a pilot;
Joshua Kutrick (Canadian Space Agency) – спеціаліст місії;
Сергій Тетерятников (Roscosmos) – спеціаліст місії.
Запуск має відбутися за допомогою ракети-носія Falcon 9 зі стартового комплексу SLC-40, розташованого на мисі Канаверал у Флориді.
Source: https://lookintothe.space