SpaceX founder Elon Musk unveils the Dragon V2 manned spacecraft, an evolution of the unmanned Dragon capsules that have been ferrying cargo to the International Space Station. With room for seven astronauts and 3-D printed engines that can output 16,000 pounds of thrust, Dragon V2 is said to be fully reusable and should be capable of landing propulsively on land rather than splashing down in a body of water. While many of the vehicles impressive specifications are revealed, no announcements are made of when NASA might permit a manned test flight to the ISS, or how far along Dragon V2 is in meeting NASA’s exacting standards for manned spacecraft.
