The vehicle can seat seven astronauts on their way to orbit

Mar 19, 2012 21:31 GMT  ·  By
This is the interior of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, in its manned configuration
   This is the interior of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, in its manned configuration

Officials at the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Incorporated (SpaceX) recently conducted its first NASA Crew Trial, one of two assessments meant to verify that the manned version of the company's Dragon spacecraft could be used to ferry astronauts to space.

SpaceX made no secret of the fact that it wants to transport astronauts to orbit. When work on the Dragon space capsule first began, company CEO Elon Musk announced that the design process took into account all NASA guidelines for astronaut safety.

While the company was under contract to carry out 12 resupply flights to the International Space Station (ISS) using the cargo-carrying version of the spacecraft, this did not stop it from pursuing the development of a manned version of the vehicle simultaneously.

The purpose of the first NASA Crew Trial was to demonstrate that astronauts aboard the spacecraft are safe in both nominal and off-nominal scenarios. At the same time, company engineers were allowed access to invaluable spacecraft data, as well as feedback from industry experts and actual astronauts.

“We continue making rapid progress in our efforts to prepare the Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts. Recently, SpaceX completed another important milestone – the first NASA Crew Trial, one of two crew tests as part of SpaceX’s work to build a prototype Dragon crew cabin,” a SpaceX update reads.

It is important to note here that Dragon will be able to carry 7 passengers, which is the same number as the NASA space shuttles were capable of delivering to the ISS. However, the new capsule lacks the cargo bay that enabled the orbiters to move large station components with each flight.

“The engineering prototype includes seven seats as well as representations of crew accommodations such as lighting, environmental control and life support systems, displays, cargo racks, and other interior systems,” the SpaceX statement went on to say.

“During the daylong test, SpaceX and NASA evaluators including four NASA astronauts, participated in human factors assessments which covered entering and exiting Dragon under both normal and contingency cases, as well as reach and visibility evaluations,” company officials added.

According to the manned Dragon's specifications sheet, each seat can hold an adult up to 6 feet 5 inches (1.98 meters) in height, and weighing up to 250 pounds (113.4 kilograms). Each astronauts that will travel on the Dragon will receive a custom-fit liner for their seat.

An interesting thing about the Dragon is that the interior of its pressurized vessel is so large, that it could fit an entire Russian-built Soyuz space capsule with room to space. The Russian spacecraft is capable of carrying three astronauts to orbit.