High-Tech Dummy Headed into Space This Weekend Has Been Named “Ripley” in Tribute to ‘Alien’
On Saturday, March 2nd at 2:49am EST, SpaceX‘s Crew Dragon capsule will take flight for its first test mission, and the journey will be monitored by a multitude of sensors that will provide NASA and SpaceX with essential data for future missions. Many of those sensors have been built into the only crew-member on board: Ripley, a high-tech dummy.
Yes, the Crew Dragon’s lone passenger has been named after Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise, shown off on Twitter by SpaceX founder Elon Musk today.
“We instrumented the crap out of this vehicle; it’s got data, sensors everywhere,” Kathy Lueders, manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said yesterday (via Space.com). “Actually having a re-entry, with Ripley in the seat, in the position, is critical.”
The site details, “The sensors inside the Ripley dummy will measure forces and acceleration experienced by a future human passenger, as well as the environment around them.”
In other words, Ripley’s journey to and from the International Space Station will help make future journeys safe for actual human beings. That’s Ellen Ripley for ya. Always a hero.
The live-stream begins tomorrow at 2am EST and can be watched on Space.com.
Ripley pic.twitter.com/Z9Ztram8Ai
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2019
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