SpaceX, NASA delay next astronaut launch to ISS due to leak on Dragon spacecraft

SpaceX's next astronaut mission to the International Space Station won't launch on Sept. 12 after all. That flight, known as Crew-13 , has been delayed due to an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, NASA announced on Saturday (Aug. 29). "Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are performing additional tests and data review and will comp

The top 3

  1. Highest Percentage of Successful Crewed Launches: The Soyuz spacecraft family, with over 150 crewed missions, boasts an overall reliability of approximately 97%, with modern Soyuz-2 variants achieving even higher success rates, including a 100% success rate for Soyuz FG crewed launches from 2001. SpaceX's Crew Dragon has maintained a perfect record across its 20 crewed missions since May 2020.
  2. Safest Crewed Returns from Orbit: Both the Apollo program and SpaceX's Crew Dragon have achieved a perfect record for successful crewed returns from spaceflights, with no fatalities during re-entry or landing for their respective crewed missions. In contrast, the Soyuz program has experienced two fatal incidents during return (Soyuz 1 due to parachute failure and Soyuz 11 due to depressurization), while the Space Shuttle had one catastrophic failure during re-entry (Columbia).
  3. Top 3 Technical Issues Causing Delays/Aborts: Historically, crewed spaceflight missions have faced common technical hurdles leading to delays or aborts: propulsion and engine malfunctions (e.g., Space Shuttle main engine shutdown, Starliner thruster failures), leaks (such as the recent Dragon spacecraft leak, Starliner helium leak, or Soyuz MS-22 coolant leak), and software or computer glitches (like those encountered by Starliner or Space Shuttle General Purpose Computer failures).

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