SpaceX also sent sensor-packed dummy on its first demo flight to ISS

Elon Musk’s SpaceX just launched Crew Dragon capsule, its first spacecraft designed to carry humans to the International Space Station. However, the rocket did not contain any living being, it did have a sensor-packed dummy passenger.

The successful launch of SpaceX’s capsule clearly indicates that Crew Dragon could be the first commercially built spacecraft to carry NASA astronauts to orbit. What’s more interesting about this launch is the dummy ‘Ripley’, a spiritual successor to ‘Starman’ dummy that SpaceX launched along with the Tesla Roadster up in space. Just before the launch, Musk also added a 'super high tech zero-g indicator'.

Ripley pic.twitter.com/Z9Ztram8Ai

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2019

Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch! pic.twitter.com/CRO26plaXq

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2019

“We call it a smarty, and her name is Ripley,” SpaceX vice president of Build and Flight Reliability Hans Koenigsmann said. “We instrumented the crap out of this vehicle; it’s got data, sensors everywhere,” NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Kathy Lueders added.

As per Futurism, Ripley, wearing SpaceX’s Commercial Crew space suit, is covered head to toe with sensors that will tell SpaceX engineers about what the experience will be like for human astronauts while travelling to and from the ISS.

The Crew Dragon will dock with the orbiting ISS on Sunday to drop off about 400 pounds of supplies before returning back to Earth five days later, detailed CNN. If all goes perfectly well and some more reviews and safety checks, the capsule will be ready to fly two NASA astronauts to space station later in July this year.