Watch SpaceX Crew Dragon's First Flight From Point of View Video

— -- SpaceX released new point of view video today showing what it was like to be on board its Crew Dragon vessel, which took its first test flight earlier this month.

The test was conducted without any crew and was designed to help SpaceX engineers test the capsule's pad abort system, a vital emergency escape system that would allow astronauts to quickly get to safety if something goes wrong shortly after launch.

SpaceX said after the test that it was a success, and had humans been on board the Crew Dragon, they would have survived the pad abort test.

A dummy stood in for a human crew, allowing SpaceX to collect data on how the emergency abort procedure could potentially affect the human body.

The Crew Dragon lifted off with the power of SuperDraco engines as it moved 5,000 feet above the launch pad, accelerating from zero to 100 mph in 1.2 seconds.

Dragon detached from its rocket, deployed its parachutes and continued a controlled descent into the Atlantic Ocean, landing a mile from shore, where it bobbed in the water and waited for a recovery vessel.

NASA last year awarded multi-billion dollar deals to Boeing and SpaceX for development of spacecraft to shuttle astronauts to and from space.