CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (NBC) – SpaceX is moving a step closer to human space flight.
The company’s Crew Dragon capsule is poised for liftoff from Cape Canaveral early tomorrow morning.
This time, it’s a human-rated demonstration craft carrying more than cargo to the International Space Station with a life-sized test dummy, “Ripley”, along for the ride.
“Ripley”, named for Sigourney Weaver’s character in the “Alien” movies, is outfitted with sensors to see how it fares on the journey.
The feedback will help the company prepare to launch astronauts into space.
SpaceX redesigned their flight-proven cargo capsule to accommodate humans.
If successful, this mission will be followed with another unmanned Crew Dragon demonstration flight before humans will launch into space from American soil.
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