This Weekend ’s SpaceX Launch Will Be a Huge Step Towards Crewed Flights

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — SpaceX closes in on human spaceflight with this weekend’s debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won’t carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. NASA doesn’t expect this crucial shakedown cruise to go perfectly. But the lessons learned should improve safety when two NASA astronauts strap into a Dragon as early as July. Boeing is also in the race to end NASA’s eight-year drought of launching U.S. astronauts on U.S. rockets from U.S. soil. The space agency is turning to private taxi rides to reduce its pricey reliance on Russian rockets to get astronauts to and from the space station. NASA is providing $8 billion for SpaceX and Boeing to build and operate these new systems. A look at the newest space ride: Crew vs. Cargo SpaceX has made 16 space station deliveries over the past seven years. The private company overhauled the cargo Dragon capsule to make it safe — and comfortable — for passengers. It’s slightly bigger — 27 feet (8 meters) tall — and also launches atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But now there are four seats, three windows, computer touch screens and life-support systems. Instead of solar wings, solar cells are on the spacecraft itself. A...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized onetime SpaceX Source Type: news