In a carefully choreographed event that felt more like an pop music awards show or an Apple product launch than anything we're used to with space flight, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tonight unveiled the newest edition of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and CEO, inside the Dragon V2 capsule.
DragonV2 is designed to carry up to 7 astronauts to space. In the archived livestream of the unveiling event, below, Musk explains what's under the hood. Described by its chief designer as "a true 21st-century spacecraft," the DragonV2 flight could achieve its first unmanned flight as soon as late 2015, and its first crewed flight as soon as mid-2016.
Photos of the new spacecraft follow, provided by SpaceX.
A photo of the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon (V1) at the International Space Station, photographed by the Expedition 39 crew members. The spacecraft was captured by the ISS and berthed, following its April 20 arrival.
"That is how a 21st century spaceship should land." –@elonmusk #DragonV2 pic.twitter.com/JN0a9dFJ4u
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 30, 2014
