CAPE CANAVERAL: Officials say Spa­ceX’s new capsule for astronauts suffered an “anomaly” during a routine engine test firing in Florida, causing smoke to be seen for miles.

Forty-fifth Space Wing Spokesman Jim Williams tells Florida Today that the anomaly happened Saturday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station while the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was undergoing a “static test fire.” Williams says no one was injured and the anomaly was contained.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon successfully flew without a crew to the International Space Station in March. Officials had previously said the first flight with astronauts could be as early as this summer, but the schedule is under review.

In a statement, SpaceX said it’s committed to ensuring that its systems “meet rigorous safety standards.” It says it is investigating why the anomaly occurred.“Earlier today, SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test stand at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Flori­da,” a SpaceX spokesman said in a statement.

“The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand.”

A photo on the Florida Today website showed large amounts of smoke pouring out of the test site, and there was speculation about a possible explosion, but neither SpaceX nor Nasa would provide any immediate detail.

Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine refer­red on Twitter only to an “anomaly.” “This is why we test,” he added. “We will learn, make the necessary adjustments and safely move forward.” Nasa is counting on SpaceX’s capsule, as well as Boeing’s Starliner, to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS, a task handled since 2011 by Russia.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019