SpaceX has shared photos of the two Crew Dragon capsules that will be used for the upcoming Polaris Dawn and Crew-9 astronaut missions. The images show the capsules side-by-side in a processing facility on Florida's Space Coast.
[Image of SpaceX Dragon capsules for Polaris Dawn and Crew-9 astronaut missions]
Polaris Dawn
*This mission is scheduled to launch on August 27 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
* It will send a crew of four people on a five-day trip to Earth orbit.
* The crew will conduct a number of experiments and demonstrations during their time in space, including the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
* The mission will also test new technology for future human spaceflight missions, such as SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system.
Crew-9
* This mission is scheduled to launch on September 24 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
* It will send a crew of four people to the International Space Station (ISS).
* The crew will spend about six months on the ISS, conducting research and experiments.
* This will be the third operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS.
These two missions are just the beginning of a busy period for SpaceX's human spaceflight program. In the coming years, SpaceX plans to launch more Dragon missions to the ISS, as well as to the Moon and Mars.