VIDEO: CHECK OUT SPACEX'S DRAGON 2 HOVER TEST

SpaceX's plans for human space exploration hinge on two key pieces of technology, and the company's mission to the moon next year will be a key testing milestone for both. The first is the Falcon Heavy Rocket, which upon completion will be the world's most powerful rocket. The other piece is the Dragon 2 crew capsule, which will be capable of ferrying humans to and from space. 

SpaceX's Dragon 2 – powered by eight SuperDraco engines – executed a picture-perfect propulsive hover test at the company's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. 

Eight SuperDraco thrusters positioned around the perimeter of the vehicle in pairs called "jetpacks", fired up simultaneously to raise the Crew Dragon spacecraft for a five-second hover. 

The Dragon 2 generated approximately 33,000 lbs of thrust before returning the vehicle to its resting position. This test was the second of a two-part milestone under NASA's Commercial Crew program. The first test – a shot-firing of the engine intended to verify a healthy propulsion system – was completed in November, and the longer burn, two-days later, demonstrated the vehicles control while hovering. 

The Dragon 2 is a fully autonomous spacecraft designed to carry up to seven humans to the International Space Station, the moon and possibly even Mars. The Dragon 2 can land anywhere on Earth to be refuelled and reused for multiple missions in the future. 

The Dragon 2 looks like a large white candy corn with a winged metal cylinder beneath. The hover test can be seen in the video below, SpaceX was able to gather data about the timeline of launch, the ability of the SuperDragon engines to respond to incoming data, the trajectory of  Dragon 2, and external and internal factors to ensure safe conditions for passengers. 

In the video below, you can see the SuperDraco thruster fired simultaneously to raise Dragon 2 to hover for five seconds before returning it to a resting position.