The prototype test project, code-named DragonFly, would be conducted at SpaceX's test facility near McGregor, Texas, according to a draft environmental assessment released by the Federal Aviation Administration. The document is part of the regulatory requirements for issuing an experimental permit for the tests.
In the 76-page FAA document,
the DragonFly RLV is described as a 7-ton Dragon capsule equipped with
eight SuperDraco thrusters, an integrated trunk and up to four landing
legs. The program calls for a series of increasingly ambitious tests,
starting with a parachute-assisted landing and proceeding to a full
propulsive landing and rocket-powered hops.
DragonFly is just one of several
initiatives being pursued by Musk's California-based venture to turn
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule into a fully reusable space
transport system. The Texas facility is already being used for tests of a
rocket prototype called the Falcon 9R, which is designed to fly itself back to a landing pad after sending up its payload.
Unmanned versions of the Dragon capsule have made four round trips to the International Space Station, including one resupply mission that wound up last weekend. Last month, Musk announced in a Twitter update
that the hardware for the Dragon 2 would be unveiled on May 29. That
would pave the way for the DragonRider, a version capable of ferrying
astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
The DragonFly
prototype's landing technology would eventually be incorporated into a
future version of the seven-person DragonRider capsule. It also could be
used on interplanetary trips, including a Mars mission code-named "Red Dragon" or Icebreaker. Last weekend, the 42-year-old Musk reported that he was making progress on a plan to send colonists to Mars during his lifetime.
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