Elon Musk has unveiled his space transport company’s first manned spacecraft, a seven-passenger vehicle called the Dragon V2.
According to the Verge, the ship can carry the astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), where it will dock and then make a soft landing back on earth with its advanced propulsion capabilities.
The CEO of Space Xpresented the Dragon V2 at a live launch event in California, describing the version 2 as a “big leap forward in technology” from the first model.
He made sure to note the spacecraft’s precise landing system, enabling it to “land anywhere on earth with the accuracy of a helicopter.”
Much of the spacecraft’s controls are touch-screen, with the only manual buttons to be used for emergency situations.
The ship is expected to be ready for takeoff at some point in 2016, at least a year ahead of NASA’s scheduled launch in 2017 or 2018, the Verge reports.
These first test flights will be unmanned, however, simulating human control to ensure everything works.
The US usually pays Russia hundreds of millions for manned trips to the ISS, but that partnership may soon dissolve if Russia doesn’t change its behavior towards Ukraine.
NASA cut off all contact with Russian government scientists in April, and Russia recently declared that it would deny any requests from the US to use the ISS after 2020.
Creation of the Dragon V2 was funded by NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program, which has also given the necessary means to Boeing, Blue Origin and Sierra Nevada to build their own manned spacecraft capable of bringing at least four people into space.
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