A single-person spacecraft could mean astronauts don't have to make dangerous spacewalks, during which they risk suit failure and punctures from micrometeoroids. The new design is a step toward that goal, but it still has some kinks to work out. "We'd like to fly a demonstrator — a stripped-down version — and get up there [to space] very soon, and add capability as needed. The design has been tested in a large pool by divers at the US Space & Rocket Center in Alabama, showing that the spacecraft could theoretically be used in a microgravity environment. With sufficient funding, the company has said that it could perform a test flight in three years.
A single-person spacecraft could mean astronauts don't have to make dangerous spacewalks, during which they risk suit failure and punctures from micrometeoroids. The new design is a step toward that goal, but it still has some kinks to work out. The design has been tested in a large pool by divers at the US Space & Rocket Center in Alabama, showing that the spacecraft could theoretically be used in a microgravity environment. With sufficient funding, the company has said that it could perform a test flight in three years.