SpaceX released a video showing the successful Crew Dragon pad abort test of how astronauts can escape. (Photo : SpaceX/Youtube)
After the successful pad abort test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, a new video was released to show how it is like to be an astronaut trying to escape from a launch pad emergency. This month's pad abort test also takes a peek on how this kind of space test flight can also appeal to those who would want to take a ride on this vehicle even if they are not exactly space explorers.
The test flight was conducted May 6 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida which is also the first ever to be carried out for the Crew Dragon "pusher" system which are powered by eight SuperDraco thrusters.
The Crew Dragon capsule gained an acceleration of zero to 100 miles per hour in just 1.2 seconds where it reached the highest possible speeds of 345 miles per hour.
This two minute video by SpaceX was captured by cameras that are mounted on top of the Dragon capsule where it immediately shows Florida terrain falling far away when the craft rises for 1.5 kilometers above the launch pad.
There are exciting moments when the Dragon is slowly tumbling, where the trunk becomes separated and blasts away for the parachutes to unfold and quickly expand following an easy journey drifting down towards the Atlantic ocean.
However, the latest video does not show the splashdown of the capsule on the ocean, this can be seen at the tail end of the ride during the end of the video from SpaceX that was released a few days after the test flight.
Many are curious as how does it feel to be on this intense capsule ride. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk says that if there would have been people on board, they would still be in great shape.
The only one lucky enough to score a ride on this capsule is a crash test dummy strapped onto the Dragon where the next manned test flights would have to wait until 2017 when astronauts can experience the Crew Dragon.
The Crew Dragon is slated to bring astronauts to the International Space Station in 2017 along with Boeing that is currently developing a similar spacecraft to ferry astronauts with their very own CST-100 due to a billion dollar contract with NASA.
