This Weekend’s SpaceX Launch Will Be a Huge Step Towards Crewed Flights

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — SpaceX closes in on human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts.

The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear.

NASA doesn't expect this crucial shakedown cruise to go perfectly.

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — SpaceX closes in on human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. NASA doesn't expect this crucial shakedown cruise to go perfectly.