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SpaceX Dragon test run

SpaceX tests a key emergency escape system on its Dragon spaceship.

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SpaceX Dragon test run

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  1. SpaceX Dragon test run

  2. The unmanned SpaceX Crew Dragon lifts off from launch pad 40 during a Pad Abort Test at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  3. The 20 foot-tall Dragon capsule, a modified version of the spacecraft that flies cargo to the International Space Station, fired up its eight, side-mounted thruster engines to catapult itself nearly one mile up and over the Atlantic Ocean. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  4. The flight ended less than two minutes later with the capsule's parachute splash-down about 1.4 miles east of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch site. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  5. The purpose of the test was to demonstrate an escape system to carry the capsule to safety in case of a fire or accident during launch. SpaceX plans to refly the capsule later this year aboard a Falcon 9 rocket to test an abort maneuver at supersonic speed and high altitude. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  6. NASA retired the shuttles in 2011 and invested in commercial companies' designs for a new generation of space taxis. The U.S. space agency currently is investing $6.8 billion in privately owned SpaceX and Boeing. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  7. NASA hopes to be flying astronauts to and from the International Space Station by December 2017, breaking Russia's monopoly on crew ferry flights. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  8. NASA currently pays Russia about $63 million per person to fly aboard Soyuz capsules. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  9. No astronauts were aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule during Wednesday's test, though an instrumented crash dummy was strapped into a seat in the crew cabin. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  10. Once the capsule is recovered from the ocean, it will be trucked to SpaceX's McGregor, Texas, facility for post-flight analysis and refurbished so it can fly again. The capsule was outfitted with 270 sensors to collect speed, temperature, pressure and other data needed to make sure it is safe for flying people. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  11. The unmanned SpaceX Crew Dragon separates from its fairing after lifting off from launch pad 40 during a Pad Abort Test at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Scott Audette

  12. The unmanned SpaceX Crew Dragon lifts off from launch pad 40 during a Pad Abort Test at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Scott Audette

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