SpaceX unveils sleek spaceship to fly U.S. astronauts

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX unveils sleek spaceship to fly U.S. astronauts
Reuters
By Irene Klotz  May 30, 2014 12:45 AM



SpaceX CEO Elon Musk poses by the Dragon V2 spacecraft after it was unveiled in Hawthorne, California May 29, 2014. Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, on Thursday unveiled an upgraded passenger version of the Dragon cargo ship NASA buys for resupply runs to the International Space Station. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni



CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, on Thursday unveiled an upgraded passenger version of the Dragon cargo ship NASA buys for resupply runs to the International Space Station.

Rather than parachuting down into the ocean, the new capsule is outfitted with beefed up motors and landing legs to make precision touchdowns on land, said SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk, a billionaire technology entrepreneur who also runs the Tesla Motors Inc electric car company.

"You'll be able to land anywhere on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter ... That is how a 21st century spaceship should land," Musk said before a jam-packed audience at SpaceX's Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters.

More than 32,500 people also watched the Dragon unveiling on a live SpaceX webcast.

Lifting the vehicle's hatch, Musk settled into a reclined gold-and-black pilot's seat and pulled down a sleek, rounded glass control panel. The cabin, designed to fly a crew of seven, looked more like a Star Trek movie set than the flight deck of NASA's now-retired space shuttle.



SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (R) unveils the Dragon V2 spacecraft in Hawthorne, California May 29, 2014. Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, on Thursday unveiled an upgraded passenger version of the Dragon cargo ship NASA buys for resupply runs to the International Space Station. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni


Dragon, which launches on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is one of three privately owned space taxis vying for NASA development funds and launch contracts.

The U.S. space agency turned over space station cargo runs and crew ferry flights after retiring its fleet of shuttles in 2011. SpaceX already has a $1.6 billion contract for 12 station resupply missions. Orbital Sciences Corp has a separate, $1.9 billion contract for eight cargo flights.

NASA also has been working with SpaceX, Boeing Co and privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp on a related commercial program to develop spaceships to fly astronauts, with the goal of breaking Russia's monopoly on station crew transports before the end of 2017.

The United States currently pays Russia more than $60 million per person for round-trip flights on the Russian Soyuz capsule. The price climbs to more than $70 million in 2016 and to $76 million in 2017.

Musk hopes to bring down the cost of flying in space by reusing both the Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spaceships.

"So long as we continue to throw away rockets and spacecraft we will never have true access to space. It'll always be incredibly expensive. If aircraft were thrown away with each flight, nobody would be able to fly ... or very few," Musk said.

NASA is expected to select one or two space taxi designs this summer for final development and test flights.

(Editing by Christopher Cushing)


http://news.yahoo.com/spacex-unveils-sleek-spaceship-fly-u-astronauts-044527472--finance.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Elon Musk unveils spacecraft to ferry astronauts
Associated Press
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON  May 30, 2014 8:30 AM



SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled his company's new Dragon V2 spacecraft, which is designed to bring up to seven astronauts into space and land softly and accurately back on earth. (May 30)



HAWTHORNE, Calif. (AP) — A company that has flown unmanned capsules to the Space Station unveiled a spacecraft designed to ferry up to seven astronauts to low-Earth orbit that SpaceX founder Elon Musk says will lower the cost of going to space.

The futuristic, cone-headed craft dubbed Dragon V2 featured landing legs that pop out and a propulsion system designed to land almost anywhere "with the accuracy of a helicopter," Musk said Thursday at the Southern California rocket builder's headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport.

The technology would enable rapid reloading and reusability of the spacecraft, he said. He noted that in the past, many rockets and space craft return to Earth in a fireball, rendering them unusable.

"You can just reload, propel it and fly again," Musk said. "This is extremely important for revolutionizing access to space because as long as we continue to throw away rockets and space crafts, we will never truly have access to space. It'll always be incredibly expensive."

"If an aircraft is thrown away with each flight, nobody will be able to fly or very few (can)," he said. "The same is true with rockets and spacecraft."

The capsule also features a bright, sleek interior with swing-up computer screens at the control station, a two-level seating system to accommodate up to seven astronauts and large windows for them to marvel at Earth's curvature. The cone-shaped cap can open to allow for the manned craft to dock at the Space Station on its own. The spacecraft also has more powerful engines, better heat shields, the landing legs and backup parachutes to ensure a soft landing.



Invited guest Robin Lee walks out of the cabin of the SpaceX Dragon V2 spacecraft at the SpaceX headquarters on Thursday, May 29, 2014, in Hawthorne, Calif. SpaceX, which has flown unmanned cargo capsules to the International Space Station, unveiled the new spacecraft Thursday designed to ferry up to seven astronauts to low-Earth orbit. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)


In a NASA briefing with reporters last year, Musk said Dragon V2 would look futuristic like an "alien spaceship" and promised "it's going to be cool."

Since the shuttle fleet retired in 2011, NASA has depended on Russian rockets to transport astronauts to orbit and back, paying nearly $71 million per seat. The space agency has said it wants U.S. companies to fill the void by 2017 and has doled out seed money to spur innovation.

SpaceX — short for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — has made four cargo runs to the giant orbiting outpost some 200 miles above Earth. Just last month, its Dragon capsule splashed into the Pacific, returning nearly 2 tons of science experiments and old equipment.

Companies competing for the right to ferry station astronauts need to design a spacecraft that can seat a crew of four or more and be equipped with life support systems and an escape hatch in case of emergency. SpaceX has said it's designing a seven-seat spacecraft.

SpaceX and longtime NASA contractor Boeing Co. are "more or less neck and neck" in the competition, but there's a long way to go before astronauts can rocket out of the atmosphere on private spacecraft, said John Logsdon, professor emeritus of political science and international affairs at George Washington University.

Logsdon said progress by private companies is slower than anticipated mainly because Congress has not fully funded NASA's budget request for the effort. He said it's important for the U.S. to wean its reliance on Russia given the political tension over the annexation of Crimea.

"It's essential to have our own capability to transport people to space," he said. "This is an important step in that direction."


http://news.yahoo.com/elon-musk-unveils-spacecraft-ferry-astronauts-023054626.html