NASA to pay $30 million to SpaceX

The American space agency NASA has agreed to pay a $30 million payment to SpaceX under the agency's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement.

It has been said that data gathered during the test is very important for understanding the safety and performance of the Crew Dragon spacecraft as the company continues to move on the path of certification for crew missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

Data will also help to improve the return ability of the craft to launch astronauts from the United States.

The Crew Dragon's eight SuperDraco engines were fired at 9 am EDT on May 6 for about six seconds. Every single engine of the craft produced about 15,000 pounds of thrust lifting the spacecraft off a specially built platform located at Cape Canaveral Air force Station's Space launch Complex 40 in Florida.

It was told that the spacecraft traveled almost 3,561 feet (1,187 meters) before jettisoning its trunk and safely splashing down under three main parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean, 3,606 feet (1,202 meters) from the launch pad.

Jon Cowart, partner manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said, "This test was highly visible and provided volumes of important information, which serves as tangible proof that our team is making significant progress toward launching crews on American rockets from America soon".

Cowart said the data collected from the flight test provides designers with a real benchmark of how accurate their analyses and models are at predicting reality.

The successful test of SpaceX's Crew Dragon launch demonstrated the spacecraft's ability to save astronauts in the unlikely event of a life-threatening situation on the launch pad.