In Cape Canaveral late last week private space exploration company SpaceX (News - Alert) performed the first static engine test fire of its Falcon 9 rocket. The missile posses 9 individual Merlin rocket engines and is designed to carry SpaceX’s “Dragon” capsule into sub-orbital space.

The first attempt was made on Friday afternoon but was aborted during the countdown phase due to higher than average engine chamber pressure. A full engine test fire took place for after the issues had been corrected on Saturday. The test lasted only 2-seconds.

While the test are being performed in advance of what was to be the Falcon’s maiden voyage on December the 9^th  the completion of the test may have located additional problems that will need to be addressed before this can happen.

The SpaceX website states, “Engineers are analyzing two small cracks in the aft end of the 2nd stage engine nozzle extension. These cracks are in a region near the end of the nozzle extension where there is very little stress and so they would not cause a flight failure by themselves. However, further investigation is warranted to ensure that these cracks are not symptomatic of a more serious problem.”

There has been no word on whether this damage will stop the scheduled December 9^th launch or not.  

While it won’t be the first private space craft to obtain sub orbital flight, SpaceX is one of the pioneering contributors to the private space industry movement.

Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco