Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully tested it’s manned Dragon capsule at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, proving it can carry a crew to safety if a rocket malfunctions.
Company founder Elon Musk tweeted that the test capsule accelerated from 0 to 100 mph in 1.2 seconds and reached a top speed of 345 mph before parachuting to earth.
The abort test is a key milestone before the vehicle can be used to take American astronauts to the International Space Station. The first manned flight is expected in 2017.
SpaceX and Boeing have contracts to produce crewed space vehicles for NASA to succeed the now retired Space Shuttles and end the space program’s reliance on Russian rockets.