2017 marks an important year for the future of space travel, as private companies will begin to deliver astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), currently floating above our heads in low-Earth orbit. Last year, SpaceX revealed its own ferrying vehicle: the Crew Dragon capsule, and according to some recently released pictures, it doesn’t look too shabby. If you’ve ever wondered what the inside of a spacecraft looks like, here’s your chance to take a peek.
SPACEX CREW DRAGON IS MINIMALISTIC BUT STYLISH
At the moment, the company is working on the final touches of the capsule, which Popular Science accurately describes as “gumdrop-shaped.” Crew Dragon, minimalistic in design, measures roughly 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and can carry up to seven astronauts at one time. Yes, though that sounds like a tight squeeze, a trip to the International Space Station only takes about six hours. It could be worse.
According to SpaceX, the capsule uses thrusters to land, “making possible interplanetary trips that would otherwise be constrained by ocean landings.”
The spacecraft is mostly meant to provide safety for future celestial travelers, as evidenced by its simple design and clean aesthetic. There is no massive control board since the spacecraft is designed to be autonomous. Instead, a simple flat screen display panel is equipped with a few hard controls, which are there in the event of an emergency, according to Gizmag.
There’s also no bathroom, but that’s to be expected given the overall size of the gum-drop. Aside from safety, SpaceX also wanted to focus on comfort, above all, since – as Gizmag humorously points out – an astronaut is not “spam in a can.” The Crew Dragon, as such, boasts four relatively large “portholes,” or windows, and an advanced emergency escape system.
The team behind the reusable capsule describes it as “a fully autonomous spacecraft that can also be monitored and controlled by on-board astronauts and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, CA”.
For more information on the Crew Dragon, check out the video below:
