Скачать или смотреть [J.JTimes] Oxidizer Leak Delays SpaceX's AX-4 Crewed Mission

‪@J.JTimes‬
SpaceX has decided to delay its scheduled crewed space mission due to a leak of oxidizer from the Falcon 9 rocket.
This mission was considered a key step toward building private space stations, raising both interest and concern.
Let’s take a closer look at what went wrong.

The issue stemmed from the reuse of Falcon 9’s first-stage booster.
SpaceX VP William Gerstenmaier stated in a pre-launch briefing that
a liquid oxygen leak was found during the rocket's static fire test.

The booster had been used once before in a Starlink mission, making this its first reuse.
Gerstenmaier admitted, “We discovered the booster hadn’t been fully repaired.”

Liquid oxygen serves as an essential oxidizer for fuel combustion in rockets.
A leak can disrupt the burn process, and the cryogenic oxidizer could damage key components,
potentially leading to orbital failure during launch.

Initially, SpaceX considered mitigating the leak using a purge system,
but as engineers suspected the leak might be in an inaccessible area,
they ultimately chose to delay the launch.

Experts note that “crewed missions require a more conservative, safety-first approach.”

AX-4 was planned to be SpaceX’s third crewed mission this year,
and a vital step toward establishing private space stations.

Once repairs are complete, a launch is still possible by the end of June,
or may be pushed to mid-July due to solar angle constraints.

Despite over 300 successful Falcon 9 launches,
spaceflight remains a field full of risk and complexity.
With human lives onboard, caution is more critical than ever.