SpaceX, the Elon Musk-owned space company has teased a few images of the interiors of their first crew-carrying capsule. The company also showed off the first team of astronauts that will be flown onboard the Crew Dragon.
At the event, the SpaceX astronaut suit was also on display. This is the same suit that "Spaceman" wore onboard the Tesla Roadster launched in the Falcon Heavy test. SpaceX's first demonstration mission without humans aboard Crew Dragon will be undertaken in November 2018, with Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
This unveiling event took place at the SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California with only a small group of journalists present. The Crew Dragon, placed on a Falcon 9, will launch a crew of scientists and engineers to the International Space Station as early as February 2019, notes a report by Futurism.
Those invited were allowed to climb into a full sized model of the capsule. They even got an up close and personal look at the spacesuit and even look at the rocket software from inside a simulator, notes the report.
NASA has appointed a four member team as the crew to conduct thorough tests on the capsule. The crew was announced last week and it includes Space Shuttle veteran Doug Hurley who said, "Being able to fly a first flight as a test pilot is a once in a generational type of opportunity," He will be one of the first SpaceX Dragon astronauts, "But we've got a lot of work left to do."
Crew Dragon is, as can be seen in the image is equipped with four bucket seats similar to those seen in a race car and the astronauts will be strapped in for the ride. Apart from the seating, there is enough room for three cargo pallets directly under the seats, notes the report.
One massive screen directly above the seats will be the control panel, which seems to be in line with the Tesla single screen control panel design language. There is also a toilet in there, notes the report.
Unlike the rocket, or the capsule, little is known about the actual specs of the suit. It was first unveiled by Musk a year back on his Instagram. Among the few sparse details of the suit, he captioned the image: "First picture of SpaceX spacesuit. More in days to follow. Worth noting that this actually works (not a mock-up). Already tested to double vacuum pressure. Was incredibly hard to balance aesthetics and function. Easy to do either separately."
SpaceX said the suit is made entirely from a fire retardant fabric specially designed for it.
The report does mention that the suit will not be used in actual spacewalks. It is, as of now, a safety backup in case there is any equipment failure during docking or any depressurization events or other equipment failure. The reason for it not being suitable for spacewalks is because it will make moving inside the suit difficult when fully pressurised, notes the report. The Spaceman suit will also not be able to protect astronauts in case they are exposed to extreme radiation or temperatures of open space.
