Space X Capsule Test

The Space X capsule being tested at NASA Langley’s Splash Test Basin. A series of drop tests into the Hydro Impact Basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia helped SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule prepare to safely land astronauts. A mock-up of the capsule with two instrumented crash test devices seated inside was tested in March 2019, representing how the capsule may impact the water during splashdown with different wind and parachute dynamics. Data collected helps understand pressures on the capsule and how those forces affect the spacecraft and occupants. Crew Dragon will carry NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in the Demo-2 mission, the final SpaceX flight test for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and the first flight of astronauts to orbit from U.S. soil since the space shuttle’s retirement in 2011. (NASA/ David C. Bowman)