SpaceX cleared a major hurdle Wednesday in its mission to return humans to space from Florida.

The commercial company's pad abort test was successful as SpaceX tries to prove to NASA that it's able to move the spacecraft out of harm's way in case there's a problem on the launch pad.

NASA said the goal is to keep astronauts safe during future launches.

The test was the first time SpaceX and NASA got to see the Crew Dragon in action. No humans were on board the spacecraft Wednesday, just a dummy.

The mission began at 9 a.m. and lasted about two minutes.



The Crew Dragon vehicle used eight SuperDraco engines to boost it 5,000 feet into the air. The Dragon's trunk then deployed two small parachutes followed by three main parachutes. The spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean about a mile from the launch pad.

The Dragon capsule went from 0 mph to 100 mph in 1.2 seconds, according to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX. The capsule's top speed was 345 mph.

"To me, you want to show that you can move the astronauts away from wherever the problem is and land them safely," said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance at SpaceX. "That demonstration is really one of the key parts."

A fleet of vessels helped recover the spacecraft and bring it back to shore. The capsule will then be sent to Texas for a detailed analysis of the 270 sensors, which study the effects inside and outside the spacecraft.



"It was really a feel-good moment," said Mike Currie, of NASA. "It was reminiscent of watching the Apollo spacecraft come down and splash down in the ocean."

Later this summer, SpaceX will attempt an in-flight abort test from California. During that test, the Dragon capsule will be placed on top of a launching Falcon 9 rocket to test its ability to get a future manned spacecraft away from the rocket during an emergency after liftoff takes place.

Boeing and SpaceX were selected to return American astronauts to space by 2017 under a $6.8 billion contract with NASA. The Dragon capsule will eventually ferry astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time since the end of the space shuttle era.



Launch Schedule



The next scheduled launch from the Space Coast is set for Wednesday, May 20. The launch window for the Atlas V runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

