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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

On the road to restoring US Human spaceflight from US soil, SpaceX conducted a pair of key tests [phys.org] involving a propulsive hover test and parachute drop test for their Crew Dragon vehicle which is slated to begin human missions in 2017.

SpaceX released a short video showing the Dragon 2 vehicle executing a "picture-perfect propulsive hover test" on a test stand at the firms rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas.

The video published last week shows the Dragon 2 simultaneously firing all eight of its side mounted SuperDraco engines, during a five second test carried out on Nov. 22, 2015.

Using the SuperDragos will eventually enable pinpoint propulsive soft landings like a helicopter in place of parachute assisted landings in the ocean or on the ground.

The video clip seen below includes both full speed and slow motion versions of the test, showing the vehicle rising and descending slowly on the test stand.

The SuperDracos generate a combined total of 33,000 lbs of thrust.

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