An internal email sent to employees of a major NASA contractor appears to confirm speculation that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule exploded during a failed test earlier this month.
The email obtained by the Orlando Sentinel directly addresses footage that circulated on social media following the April 20 ‘anomaly,’ referring to it as ‘video of the failed test.’
At the same time, the memo warned employees not to record activity inside the Kennedy Space Center – if they do, they risk being fired.
SpaceX was attempting a static-fire test of the abort system on its new capsule when it suffered an undisclosed anomaly that sent plumes of dark orange smoke billowing into the air all around Florida’s Cape Canaveral launch site.
Nearly two weeks on, neither NASA nor SpaceX have publicly confirmed the footage or provided any details on what went wrong.
The email obtained by the Orlando Sentinel was sent to employees of the aerospace company Jacobs, who are working as contractors under NASA’s Test and Operations Support Contract.
‘As most of you are aware, SpaceX conducted a test fire of their crew capsule abort engines at [Cape Canaveral Air Force Station], and they experienced an anomaly,’ the email states, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
‘Subsequently, video of the failed test — which was not released by SpaceX or NASA — appeared on the internet.’
‘It is up to NASA and other companies onsite to make the determination about what information related to their activities is released to the public,’ the email also states, according to the Sentinel.
Software engineer K. Scott Piel later tweeted about the new rules, revealing the new policy that emerged after the failed test prohibits employees from ‘photographing or sharing images from any operations here at KSC.’
While SpaceX and NASA have both remained tight-lipped about what exactly went wrong, the leaked footage suggests the issue was serious.
If so, it would be a major setback for NASA’s plans to send astronauts to orbit later this year.
SpaceX was testing the Dragon’s abort thrusters at Cape Canaveral, Florida, when the incident occurred. The company said the test area was clear and no one was injured.
Unverified footage was later shared online by Twitter user @Astronut099, who claims to work at Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center and posts frequently about activity at the site.
It appears to show the Dragon capsule suddenly exploding on the test pad.
Dailymail.com has reached out to SpaceX for comment.
This Dragon was supposed to be reused in a launch abort test in June, with another capsule making the first flight with a crew of two as early as July.
The SuperDraco abort thrusters are crucial to protect astronauts in flight; they’re designed to fire in an emergency and pull the capsule safely away from the rocket.
At the time, NASA said it’s too early to revise the target launch dates, given that the accident is still so fresh.
‘This is why we test,’ NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that weekend.
‘We will learn, make the necessary adjustments and safely move forward with our commercial crew program.’