Tags: SpaceX, Dragon, NASA
Publication: Gizmag.com
Publication Date: 11/02/2012

Dragon crew evaluation test with NASA’s engineers and astronauts and SpaceX engineers. Image credit: SpaceX

After successfully completing the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station using the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, SpaceX has moved on to a more ambitious project. The company fruitfully finalized the first three performance milestones toward sending passengers in its spacecraft.

The milestones are demands from NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capacity (CCiCap) initiative. After retiring the space shuttle, SpaceX would give NASA the possibility of sending crew to the ISS from the United States again. The company is now moving into the CCiCap’s third commercial crew phase which requires SpaceX to provide an integrated systems requirements review with details for how it plans to design, build and test the spacecraft’s manned flight capabilities, as well as how the mission would be managed from ground operations through to landing.

With these developments, SpaceX also plans to offer taking passengers into low Earth orbit for private customers as well. The company has developed an abort system that would fly the Dragon capsule to safety in case of an emergency using a SuperDraco enginge.

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