I’M EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: NASA, SpaceX prepare for Falcon 9 rocket to explode over the Atlantic.

If you’ve gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet, perhaps it’s no surprise you have to blow up a few space vehicles to get to space. SpaceX and NASA are preparing for the latest trial of the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the in-flight abort test is likely going to lead to the destruction of a Falcon 9 rocket in the process.

That test has been pushed back a week, to Jan. 18, to allow “additional time for spacecraft processing,” NASA said Monday. The goal of the test is to demonstrate the Dragon’s emergency escape system before NASA gives the final thumbs-up for the craft to begin ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew program.

I wonder if Elon Musk has some big, showy surprise planned for the test.