Watch SpaceX test-fire its new engine...on the ground in Texas
Elon Musk's SuperDraco engine makes those "Star Trek"-style thrusters a reality.
Brace yourself, pyromaniacs. Put away all the matches before you watch the below video of SpaceX's new SuperDraco engine spewing flame.
Elon Musk's space exploration company released the video of a successful test-firing of an engine from a test site in McGregor, Texas. The SuperDraco could be used to propel SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft out of Earth's gravitational pull, and Musk claims it will be the safest such system in history and also capable of more accurate landings. As if to prove the point, there are plenty of completely flammable trees in the background of the test-fire site in the video.
According to a release from SpaceX, "eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch."
In a sense, SuperDracos are the closest thing we've seen yet to "Star Trek"-style on-demand thrusters that can be restarted multiple times and have the ability to "deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power," according to SpaceX.
Check out the video of the test-fire below and take some pride in the impressive power on display, because you helped pay for it. NASA's Commercial Crew Program awarded SpaceX $75 million in April of last year to start working on the SuperDraco.