Q&A with George Ricker, principal investigator for the TESS mission (members only)

Investigators believe a leak of propellant inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system led to the capsule’s explosion April 20 during a ground test at Cape Canaveral, and a senior SpaceX official said Monday that delays are making it “increasingly difficult” to fly astronauts on the commercial spaceship before the end of the year.

Two of the four crew members will exit a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft using spacesuits currently under development. The launch is set for no earlier than early 2024.

SpaceX could use its Starship vehicles to clear out space debris in Earth orbit, alongside the program’s more publicized purpose of ferrying people and cargo to the moon and Mars, a company executive said.