Here's An Inside Look At Elon Musk's Dragon V2 Spaceship

[mick silver]

At its California headquarters, SpaceX has unveiled the upgraded version of its Dragon spaceship, a capsule that will potentially be used to carry astronauts into orbit.

http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/538ca20cecad040e0e21f675-800-/top-7.jpg Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/shorealonefilms.com/HOME.html)


Shorealone Films photographer Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/) was there and took these images.
The new capsule, whose shape is reminiscent of the Apollo command module, is equipped with 8 powerful engines and landing legs that make precision touchdowns (http://theaviationist.com/2013/10/17/grasshopper-video/), like those performed by helicopters, possible. Rather than parachuting into the ocean the new spaceship can hypothetically land on any kind of surface.

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/538ca232eab8ea6541926f11-685-456/top-image-685x456.jpg Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/shorealonefilms.com/HOME.html)


“That is how a 21st century spaceship should land,” said SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk.
The Dragon v2, launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will initially fly without passengers at the end of next year. Its first piloted flight is planned for 2016.

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/538ca2496bb3f75a5121f675-685-456/spacex-dragon-cabin-empty-2-685x456.jpg Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/shorealonefilms.com/HOME.html)


The reusable spaceship could be used to launch NASA’s astronauts into space, thereby restoring the U.S.'s ability to launch and recover its astronauts.
The U.S. lost this capability after the Space Shuttles (http://theaviationist.com/2014/01/23/space-shuttle-atlantis/) were retired in 2011. Since then, American astronauts have traveled to the International Space Station via Russia’s Soyuz. This costs the U.S. some $60 million per astronaut.

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/538ca26decad043d0d21f675-685-456/spacex-dragon-cockpit-685x456.jpg Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/shorealonefilms.com/HOME.html)


Along with the SNC Dream Chaser (http://theaviationist.com/2014/01/28/dream-chaser-video/) and the Boeing CST-100, SpaceX Dragon is one of the three commercial spaceflight transportation systems currently being developed with the financial and technical support of NASA. NASA will eventually select one or two of these projects to launch humans into space beginning in 2017.
The predecessor of the new Dragon v2 capsule, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft (Space Shuttle Orbiter replacement), (http://theaviationist.com/2014/01/28/dream-chaser-video/) recently completed the third commercial resupply mission and fourth visit to the International Space Station with a launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (closely followed by the Russian ocean tug “Nikolay Chiker” (http://theaviationist.com/2014/04/17/russian-tug-off-us/)).

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/538ca28a6bb3f75c4b21f675-685-456/spacex-dragon-1-685x456.jpg Matt Hartman (http://shorealonefilms.com/shorealonefilms.com/HOME.html)


This article originally appeared at The Aviationist (http://theaviationist.com/). Copyright 2014. Follow The Aviationist on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TheAviationist).
SEE ALSO: SpaceX just released video of a new engine that could land humans on another planet (http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-superdraco-engine-2014-5)



Read more: http://theaviationist.com/2014/06/02/spacex-unveils-dragon-v2/#ixzz33bNdqRSa

[Glass]

there must be something wrong with the links on that page. I can't find anything about the SpaceX Version 1 craft. The link provided is for a competing craft which on the face doesn't look like it has payload capacity at all let alone 7 passengers and gear. Sure could be a scale model but still looks unlikely to scale to something usable.

ok so about 1.25 tonne payload. Appears to have no auto docking capability and requires being hauled up to the ISS to dock by grappling arm.
http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/05/18/crs-3-mission-overview

Small size rocket. Nothing of the scale used for apollo or by soyuz. Still not going as far and maybe lots of small deliveries are better/cheaper than a couple of big lifts.

the astronauts loaded it up with 3500 pounds of stuff to send back. Obviously falling is less fuel intensive than trying to get there so they can ship more "crap" back. I wonder how the change in mass distribution affects the ISS. They are collecting up stuff and moving it to this capsule so the mass of the ISS would change. Maybe that is why it was docked for 4 weeks. A slow and steady loading process so there was time to adjust the orbit for changes in mass distribution.

[chad]

the first one is in the aircraft museum in oshkosh wi, i've seen it in person. virgin atlantic's spaceship 1 or whatever it was called is in there as well.