SpaceX Dragon V2 Unveiled: See The New Space Taxi For Astronauts Here [VIDEO]

UPDATE: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has just unveiled the new Dragon V2 on Thursday night, the world's first refuelable and reusable manned capsule. According to Musk, the Dragon V2 is prepared to serve NASA manned missions as soon as 2017.

The SpaceX Dragon V2 features Super Draco engines that produce up to a staggering 16,000 lbs. of thrust. Musk announced that the Super Draco engines are the first 3D printed engines ever to be flown.

While the fundamental airframe and structure of the Dragon V2 are shared with the cargo version of the Dragon, the cabin looks rather spacious and features an abundance of high-tech details including a flip-up control panel featuring four large portrait-display flat screen monitors that face an array of carbon fiber bucket seats that accommodate up to seven crew members.

The SpaceX Dragon V2's party piece is no doubt its sophisticated landing system. unlike conventional space capsules that deploy parachutes, the Super Draco engines are capable of maneuvering the spaceship with the accuracy of a helicopter. However, should the controls or the engine malfunction, Parachutes will deploy as a backup.

Finally, other curious details that were featured at the SpaceX press conference include solar panel integration, a nose cone for the docking hatch, as well as the ability for autonomous docking or to dock manually.

The all new SpaceX Dragon V2 space ship will unveil Thursday, May 29, at 10 p.m. EDT. According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the new spaceship is designed to shuttle astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon V2 is the successor to the original Dragon spacecraft, which has executed three unmanned resupply missions to the ISS since October 2012. The Dragon had only just returned to Earth from its third mission earlier this month.

NASA expects the new SpaceX Dragon V2 to be ready for its first manned missions as soon as 2017. Even though ISS space program has been extended through 2024, the NASA Space Shuttle program retired in 2011, rendering the Russion Soyuz spacecraft as the next alternative option for U.S. astronauts to reach the ISS. As a matter of fact, U.S. astronaut Reid Wiseman is a part of the latest crew that was aboard the Soyuz yesterday. Wiseman's ticket cost the U.S. more than $70 million. What's more, recent volatility between Russia and Ukraine has further strained international relations between the U.S. and Russia, which will no doubt threaten future trips aboard the Soyuz for U.S. astronauts.

Space X, Boeing, and Sierra Nevada Corp., have all answered NASA's request for a new spacecraft to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. For SpaceX, the solution is straightforward: simply modify the Dragon capsule to accommodate a crew and to retrofit an abort the system to save the astronauts should the launch malfunction.

Be sure to watch the SpaceX Dragon V2 live stream in the video below!