SpaceX Crew Capsule 'Destroyed' During Testing

CAPE CANAVERAL (CBSMiami) - SpaceX has confirmed that a Crew Dragon capsule that was engulfed in flames during ground testing two weeks ago was destroyed.

SpaceX Vice president Hans Koenigsmann said it's too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the capsule's March space flight contributed to the failure. The capsule went up in flames a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.

SpaceX still cannot access the test stand at Cape Canaveral because of toxic fuel contamination.

Koenigsmann said the cargo version of the Dragon capsule, meanwhile, is safe to fly to the International Space Station.

SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon rocket with station supplies early Friday morning. The flight was delayed by a power problem that occurred at the station Monday and was fixed Thursday.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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