These red-and-white parachutes are part of the system that will be used to safely land astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft from the International Space Station.
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Just days after conducting a hover test of its Dragon 2 capsule, SpaceX marked another milestone with a successful test of the parachute system that it plans to use to return astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) via the upgraded Dragon. Four astronauts have been chosen last July to train on Boeing’s CST-100 as well as SpaceX Crew Dragon craft, the latter of which is the subject of two of SpaceX’s most recent tests.
Using the SuperDragos will eventually enable pinpoint propulsive soft landings like a helicopter in place of parachute assisted landings in the ocean or on the ground. Initially, the spacecraft will splash down safely in the ocean under parachutes, but ultimately the company wants to land the vehicle on land using eight SuperDraco engines.
NASA released a video of SpaceX’s parachute test over Coolidge, Arizona. Thus, it’s not a Dragon spacecraft tethered to the parachutes – that’s a “weight simulant” that stands in for a fully loaded crew module. NASA published a video of the drop test today, which shows the four large parachutes deploying and slowing a mock spacecraft beneath them. Already SpaceX has tested its landing ability in Texas in November of a year ago.
NASA released some footage to the general public revealing that the SpaceX parachutes were successfully tested. The space agency hopes to have a ride that is reliable to the space station by 2017 end. The system however lacks the main drogue chutes which a full landing system requires.
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A cargo aircraft model C-130 carried the parachute assembly thousands of feet in the air in order for the drop test to be carried out. The Tech mogul and business magnate Elon Musk run SpaceX signed a NASA cargo contract in 2006. A horizontal integration facility (right) has been constructed near the perimeter of the pad where rockets will be processed for launch prior of rolling out to the top of the pad structure for liftoff.
