SpaceX Completes Important "Wet Dress" Rehearsal Test for Upcoming Flight to Space Station

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SpaceX successfully completed a key test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will fly the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. Called a 'wet dress rehearsal,' SpaceX brought the Falcon 9 "stack" with the Dragon capsule atop to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on March 1, and loaded it with 76,000 gallons of highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel. Pre-liftoff operations were conducted as engineers went through a full count-down simulation, stopping at 5 seconds before 'launch.'

SpaceX said the test was a success and was an important step on the road to the Space Station. "The test went well," said SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham. "Over the coming days, we will continue to review the data as we prepare for our upcoming mission."

The launch of this historic flight will likely be April 20, or later, depending on the results of this and other tests.

After the wet dress rehearsal, the fuel was drained, and the rocket was later rolled off the launch pad on March 2, and the SpaceX said Dragon will be taken off for additional testing.

[caption id="attachment_93956" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Dawn at Cape Canaveral during the wet dress rehearsal test. Credit: SpaceX and Elon Musk, via Twitter. "]

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Additionally, on March 2, SpaceX conducted another test, called a 9-engine test, firing the engines for a future Falcon 9 rocket. This took place near McGregor, Texas.

As the "real" launch date approaches for the current rocket, the Falcon 9 will again be brought to the Launchpad to fire the nine first-stage engines and practice late packing of cargo in the Dragon.

"These rehearsals allow SpaceX to test out both the vehicle and the ground systems before launch," Grantham said.

SpaceX is working towards becoming the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the ISS under NASA's commercial orbital transportation services (COTS) commercial crew development (CCDev) programs. Later this year, another COTS company, Orbital Sciences hopes to launch their Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule from Wallops Island, Virginia.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com