On Thursday evening, Elon Musk and the management team at SpaceX unveiled their new spacecraft - the Dragon version 2. Based around the same Dragon design that has already made four trips to the I.S.S., this version of the spacecraft is capable of holding seven crewmembers and features a number of new features.
The event, which only lasted a few minutes, featured SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on a bright stage in front of a crowd of reporters and other parties. The first Dragon spaceship ever sent to orbit was actually hanging over the heads of the crowd, and you could see the scorch marks from its re-entry into the atmosphere.
"When we first created Dragon version 1, we didn't know how to design a spacecraft. We'd never designed one before," Musk told the crowd. "It was a great spacecraft with a great group of concepts."
After his remarks, there was a brief countdown and the curtain in the middle of the stage dropped, revealing the new version of SpaceX's capsule, the Dragon version 2.
"It can land anywhere on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter," Musk said. "It can carry seven astronauts for several days. It has an improved heat shield. It's a big leap forward in technology. It takes things to next level."
The new version of Dragon has several improvements over the old one. First of all, it can autonomously dock with the International Space Station. That's different from Dragon version one, which requires astronauts on board the station to grapple the spacecraft with the station's giant robot arm to move it into position.
Additionally, Dragon version 2 is also equipped with eight of the company's new SuperDraco engines. These engines, which can provide 16,000 pounds of thrust, are capable of allowing the spacecraft bypass an ocean landing and instead simply come back to wherever SpaceX needs it to land. The craft is also equipped with sensors that can ensure those engines are working - otherwise, it's equipped with parachutes and can splashdown as an alternative.
Earlier this week, SpaceX announced that it had successfully test fired the SuperDraco rockets. Of some particular interest to tech enthusiasts might be how they're manufactured - they're actually 3D printed, rather than traditionally built, making it the first of its kind for the industry.
After showing off the engines, Musk then showed off the interior of the spacecraft. He mentioned that the company was going for a clean design, and it showed.
Musk then climbed into the Dragon itself, sat himself down in the pilot's seat, and showed off the controls. More than anything, the touchscreen controls (and a few manual buttons) resembled a Tesla dashboard. Or perhaps the control panel of a spaceship on Star Trek.
After showing off a bit of the interior, Musk hopped out and pretty much ended the presentation right there, though he did talk with a few members of the media after.
One key element of the new Dragon that Elon Musk highlighted was its reusability. Since the spacecraft can land with accuracy rather than needing to be splashed down in the ocean, Musk noted that this mean a Dragon spacecraft could theoretically be refueled and be ready to get back into space in a very short period of time. This dovetails with SpaceX's efforts to build a resuable first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket. The company estimates that being able to reuse the rocket saves tens of millions in flight costs.
Musk was definitely passionate on this point, noting that, "As long as we continue to throw away rockets and spacecraft, space will always be too expensive. Imagine if airplanes were thrown away after each flight - no one would be able to fly, except maybe just a few people."
For SpaceX, the timing of this reveal couldn't be better. Just a few weeks ago, NASA finalized a deal with the Russian space agency to ensure trips for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station through the year 2018. The total cost of that contract is $457.9 million, and is likely to be the last time NASA buys trips to the station from the Russians.
When that contract expires, NASA hopes that it will be able to begin a contract with a commercial spaceflight company for trips to the space station. At the present time, the main contenders for those contracts are SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada Corporation. Other companies are also trying to position themselves for these contracts as well, and NASA itself is developing its own manned spaceflight solution, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
SpaceX does have a bit of a head start, though. They've already sent their first version of the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station four times. The company currently plans to test a manned flight of its Dragon spacecraft next year.
