--- title: "Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Fire Its Abort System Engines" description: "See SpaceX perform a static fire test on the SuperDraco engines that form its Crew Dragon spacecraft's emergency abort system." date: "2019-11-20" modified: "2019-11-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-crew-dragon-fire-abort-system-engines" categories: - "Crew Dragon" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "crew dragon" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Fire Its Abort System Engines ![See SpaceX perform a static fire test on the SuperDraco engines that form its Crew Dragon spacecraft's emergency abort system.]() *\Image: SpaceX/Victor Tangermann\* ## Static Fire Test SpaceX performed a static fire test on the SuperDraco engines that form its Crew Dragon spacecraft's emergency abort system last week. And thanks to [new footage]() released by NASA, you can watch the fiery test in all of its slow-motion glory. https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/1197173732034396160 ## Abort! This wasn't the first time SpaceX tested the system — it [tweeted]() in September that is had already "completed over 700 tests of the spacecraft's SuperDraco engines" — but not all of those tests went as well as this one. In April, an earlier version of SpaceX's passenger spacecraft blew up in [a massive explosion]() during a test of the very same emergency system. But luckily the space agency soon figured out what had gone wrong. "Evidence shows that a leaking component allowed liquid oxidizer — nitrogen tetroxide — to enter high-pressure helium tubes during ground processing," SpaceX wrote in a [July statement](). ## Safety First SpaceX is, obviously, still working out the kinks in the Crew Dragon, but eventually, the spacecraft will use a Falcon 9 rocket to carry two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. If anything goes wrong during launch, the SuperDraco engines will allow the Crew Dragon to carry the astronauts away from the massive rocket before the system deploys parachutes to slow the capsule's decent to the surface below. **READ MORE:** [Watch SpaceX fire up the emergency engines on its new crew spacecraft]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Crew Dragon:** *[Watch SpaceX Test Its Crew Dragon’s Escape System]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()