NASA capsule test: the business, Phnom Penh Post

NASA gave SpaceX a green light on Friday to test a new crew capsule by first sending an unmanned ship with a manikin at the actual size to the International Space Station.

"We will launch, we will dock," said William Gerstenmaier, associate director of Nasa Human Exploration and Operations.

A Falcon 9 rocket from the US private company SpaceX is expected to take off on March 2, weather permitting, to bring the Crew Dragon test capsule to the ISS.

NASA signed contracts with SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 for companies to take American astronauts to the ISS.

This will be the first time that the US space agency will let a private sector company transport its astronauts.

NASA terminated its space shuttle program in 2011 and since then it has been relying on the purchase of Soyuz Russian rocket spots to send American astronauts into the ISS in orbit.

"This is an absolutely crucial first step for the return of crew launch capability to the United States," Gerstenmaier said at a press conference in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The March 2 flight will be identical to a flight to take two astronauts to the ISS later in the year, possibly in July.

The Crew Dragon capsule has seven seats. He should dock with the ISS on 3 March, then come off and return to Earth on 8 March.

"I guarantee everything will not work properly, and it's cool, that's exactly what we want to do," Gerstenmaier said.

"We want to maximize our learning so when. … we are ready to do a real crewed mission and it will be the good security for our crews. "

SpaceX has already made more than a dozen unmanned trips since 2012, bringing supplies to the ISS with the cargo version of the Dragon capsule.

But the security criteria for manned flights are higher, and NASA said the Crew Dragon still had some problems, especially with its parachutes.

"This is really a big problem for SpaceX," said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of the company.