Situation: Dragon in orbit, but with a thruster anomaly — March 1, 2013

The launch of the SpaceX CRS-2 / SpX-2 mission was successful: the Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:10 EST on March 1, 2013, carrying the Dragon cargo capsule into orbit on its way to the International Space Station. NASA confirmed that this was SpaceX’s second operational resupply mission under the CRS contract.

The problem appeared after separation from the second stage, when Dragon was supposed to begin normal autonomous operations in orbit, including attitude control and preparation for solar array deployment. During SpaceX’s live webcast, John Insprucker explained that Dragon had reached Earth orbit, but was experiencing a problem; early indications pointed to the thrusters, meaning the small Draco engines used to maneuver the capsule.

More precisely, it does not seem to have been a generic “computer not responding” issue, but rather an anomaly in the thruster pods: three of the four thruster groups were inhibited or not properly initialized. Elon Musk indicated that the system was preventing the activation of three pods out of four, and that SpaceX would attempt an override command.

The issue had an immediate effect: deployment of the solar arrays was initially delayed. SpaceX preferred to have at least two active thruster pods before opening the arrays, because Dragon had to be in the correct attitude to avoid mechanical risks and maintain control of the spacecraft. Later, when the pressure in one of the tanks began to improve, the solar arrays were successfully deployed.

The main risk was a delay in the rendezvous with the ISS. Dragon needed its Draco thrusters to perform the orbital burns required to raise and adjust its trajectory toward the station. The anomaly caused Dragon to miss a planned orbital correction maneuver and led to at least a 24-hour delay in the scheduled arrival at the ISS.

However, the situation did not appear catastrophic. The capsule was in orbit, the Falcon 9 had performed correctly, and SpaceX was working on the problem from the ground. According to early assessments, the anomaly may have been related to an oxidizer pressure issue or a blockage in the propulsion system line; Musk mentioned the possibility of frozen material or an obstruction, which was later addressed by cycling the valves.

In summary: Dragon reached orbit, but shortly after separation it suffered a problem with its Draco propulsion system. This temporarily prevented normal attitude control, delayed solar array deployment, and disrupted the approach timeline to the ISS. The capsule was not considered lost: SpaceX was attempting to reactivate the thruster pods from the ground and reschedule the orbital maneuvers.