CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has chalked up another test flight for the capsule it will use to carry astronauts into orbit.
SpaceX fired a mock-up capsule into the air Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to test the new, super-streamlined launch escape system for astronauts.
No humans were on board for the brief flight, which lasted barely over a minute -- just a dummy.
Raw: SpaceX capsule test flight
The Dragon capsule was fired from a test stand, not a rocket, and shot up and out over the Atlantic Ocean.
Rocket engines on the capsule provided the thrust. Red and white parachutes popped out and lowered the capsule into the ocean, just offshore.
"It's a milestone in that it demonstrates a first step in the ability to have an abort system that can safely transport a crew of the top of a rocket that is failing for some reason and splash down safely in the ocean. And that is a prerequisite for the commercial crew program as we go forward and get ready to send astronauts back to the ISS," said NASA public affairs official Michael Curie.
The California-based company led by billionaire Elon Musk aims to launch U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station as early as 2017. Boeing is designing its own crew capsule.
"Assuming everything goes well in the data review, SpaceX is on target on meeting the milestones as soon as 2017," Curie said.
The next big test is set for later this year, when the same test capsule will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California.
NASA wants to make sure the commercial crew flights will be safe, and is insisting on reliable escape systems.
WFTV
