About this item
Dragon V2 is a futuristic vehicle that not only provides a means for NASA to transport its astronauts to the orbiting outpost but also advances SpaceX's core objective of reusability. A direct descendant of Dragon, Dragon V2 can be retrieved, refurbished and re-launched. It is a spacecraft with the potential to completely revolutionize the economics of an industry where equipment costing hundreds of millions of dollars is routinely discarded after a single use. It was presented by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in May 2014 as the spaceship that will carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station as soon as 2016.SpaceX's Dragon - America's Next Generation Spacecraft describes the extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement that have placed this revolutionary spacecraft at the forefront of the launch industry and positioned it as the precursor for ultimately transporting humans to Mars.
About the Author
Erik Seedhouse is an aerospace scientist whose ambition has always been to work as an astronaut. After completing his first degree in Sports Science at Northumbria University the author joined the legendary 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, the world's most elite airborne regiment. During his time in the 'Para's' Erik spent six months in Belize, where he was trained in the art of jungle warfare and conducted several border patrols along the Belize-Guatemala border. Later, he spent several months learning the intricacies of desert warfare on the Akamas Range in Cyprus. He made more than thirty jumps from a Hercules C130 aircraft, performed more than two hundred abseils from a helicopter and fired more light anti-tank weapons than he cares to remember!
Upon returning to the comparatively mundane world of academia, the author embarked upon a Master's degree in Medical Science at Sheffield University. He supported his master's degree studies by winning prize money in 100km ultradistance running races. Shortly after placing third in the World 100km Championships in 1992 and setting the North American 100km record, the author turned to ultradistance triathlon, winning the World Endurance Triathlon Championships in 1995 and 1996. For good measure, he also won the inaugural World Double Ironman Championships in 1995 and the infamous Decatriathlon, the world's longest triathlon, an event requiring competitors to swim 38km, cycle 1800km, and run 422km. Non-stop!
Returning to academia once again in 1996, Erik pursued his Ph.D. at the German Space Agency's Institute for Space Medicine. While conducting his Ph.D studies he still found time to win Ultraman Hawaii and the European Ultraman Championships as well as completing the Race Across America bike race. Due to his success as the world's leading ultradistance triathlete Erik was featured in dozens of magazines and television interviews. In 1997, GQ magazine nominated him as the 'Fittest Man in the World'.
In 1999, Erik decided it was time to get a real job. He retired from being a professional triathlete and started his post-doctoral studies at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University's School of Kinesiology. While living in Vancouver, Erik gained his pilot's license, started climbing mountains and took up sky-diving to relax in his spare time. In 2005 the author worked as an astronaut training consultant for Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas and wrote 'Tourists in Space', a training manual for spaceflight participants. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a member of the Aerospace Medical Association. Recently, he was one of the final thirty candidates of the Canadian Space Agency's Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. Erik currently works as manned spaceflight consultant and author. He plans to travel into space with one of the private spaceflight companies. As well as being a triathlete
