NASA says it trusts SpaceX

Despite testing accident, planned ISS resupply mission is still set.

NASA reinforced its confidence in SpaceX on Wednesday as the company moved ahead with a planned resupply mission to the International Space Station despite an apparent explosion over the weekend during testing of its astronaut capsule.

A Crew Dragon vehicle, which SpaceX is developing for NASA to take humans to the ISS, sent up a cloud of smoke over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Landing Zone 1 Saturday when an issue occurred while testing the spacecraft’s SuperDraco abort thrusters.

The thrusters help move the craft away from the rocket in the case of an emergency and are not found on the cargo version of Dragon, which is scheduled to carry supplies to the ISS on Tuesday. SpaceX has not yet released more information on the extent of the damage or how it may affect the future of the crew program.

In a statement Wednesday, NASA spokesperson Stephanie Martin said the agency and SpaceX “are just beginning the mishap investigation process.”

“We don’t yet know what impact this will have to our target schedules. We have full confidence in SpaceX,” she said. “Additional information will be released as it is available.”

In the meantime, the Elon Musk-led company is moving ahead with its 17th resupply mission to the space station, but with new plans. It will land its booster on a drone ship offshore instead of the landing zone, as is typically the case for these kinds of missions. The launch is scheduled for 4:22 a.m. Tuesday from launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

SpaceX said the change is to “ensure the integrity of the area and preserve valuable information” as it continues to investigate the incident at Landing Zone 1.

The Crew Dragon involved in the accident was the same that flew in March during a successful test mission to the ISS. SpaceX had an in-flight abort test scheduled next, as well as a test of the vehicle with astronauts inside planned for as early as July.

Whether the company can still stick to that schedule is now in question.

CRAIG BAILEY/FLORIDA TODAY A cloud of orange smoke rises over nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as seen from Cocoa Beach on Saturday. SpaceX reported an anomaly during test firing of their Dragon 2 capsule at their LZ-1 landing site.

JOHN RAOUX/AP FILE A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from space launch complex 40 in Cape Canaveral on Dec. 5 for a cargo delivery flight.