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SpaceX Dragon 2

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This article is about the SpaceX spacecraft. For other uses, see Dragon II.

Dragon 2
Crew Dragon Endeavour approaching the ISS in May 2024 during Crew-8
ManufacturerSpaceX
DesignerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
OperatorSpaceX
ApplicationsISS crew and cargo transport; private spaceflight
Websitespacex.com/vehicles/dragon
Specifications
Spacecraft typeCapsule
Launch mass12,500 kg (27,600 lb)[3][a]
Dry mass7,700 kg (16,976 lb)[4]
Payload capacity
  • 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) to orbit[5]
  • 3,307 kg (7,291 lb) to ISS[b][6]
  • 2,507 kg (5,527 lb) return cargo[6]
  • 800 kg (1,800 lb) disposed cargo[6]
Crew capacity
  • 2–4 (normal operations)
  • 7 (emergency evacuation)[7]
Volume
  • Pressurized: 9.3 m3 (330 cu ft)
  • Unpressurized: 37 m3 (1,300 cu ft)[5]
Power
  • 28 V and 120 V DC buses
  • 1.5-2 kW solar array[8]
Batteries4 × lithium polymer
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Design life
  • 10 days (free flight)[1]
  • 210 days (docked to ISS)[2]
Dimensions
Height
  • 4.5 m (15 ft) capsule only[9]
  • 8.1 m (26.7 ft) capsule with trunk[5]
Diameter4 m (13 ft)[5]
Width3.7 m (12 ft)[9]
Production
StatusActive
On order1 (crew)
Built12 (6 crew, 3 cargo, 3 prototypes)
Operational8 (4 crew, 3 cargo, 1 prototype)
Retired3 (1 crew, 2 prototypes)
Lost1 (crew, during uncrewed test)
Maiden launch
  • Uncrewed test: 2 March 2019
  • Crewed: 30 May 2020
  • Cargo: 6 December 2020
Related spacecraft
Derived fromSpaceX Dragon 1
Launch vehicleFalcon 9 Block 5
Thruster details
Propellant mass2,562 kg (5,648 lb)[4]
Powered by
Maximum thrust
Specific impulseDraco: 300 s (2.9 km/s)
PropellantN2O4 / CH6N2[10]
Configuration

Cross-sectional views of the Crew Dragon
1: Parachutes, 2: Crew access hatch, 3: Draco thrusters, 4: SuperDraco engines, 5: Propellant tank, 6: IDSS port, 7: Port hatch, 8: Control panel, 9: Cargo pallet, 10: Environmental control system, 11: Heat shield
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Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown. It has proven to be the most cost-effective spacecraft in history to be used by NASA.[11]

Cargo Dragon supplies cargo to the ISS under a Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA. The first flight of Dragon 2 in a cargo configuration launched in December 2020. It shares this duty with Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spaceplane is expected to join them in 2024.[12] As of July 2023, it is the only reusable orbital cargo spacecraft in operation.

Crew Dragon's primary role is to transport crews to and from the ISS under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, succeeding the crew orbital transportation capabilities of the Space Shuttle, which retired from service in 2011. It is joined by Boeing's Starliner in this role. Crew Dragon is also used for commercial flights, some of them to the ISS, and is expected to be used to shuttle people to and from Axiom Space's planned space station.

Development and variants

[edit]

There are two variants of Dragon 2: Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon.[6] Crew Dragon was initially called "DragonRider"[13][14] and it was intended from the beginning to support a crew of seven or a combination of crew and cargo.[15][16] Earlier spacecraft had a berthing port and were berthed to ISS by ISS personnel. Dragon 2 instead has an IDSS-compatible docking port to dock to the International Docking Adapter ports on ISS. It is able to perform fully autonomous rendezvous and docking with manual override ability.[17][18] For typical missions, Crew Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for a nominal period of 180 days, but is designed to remain on the station for up to 210 days, matching the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.[19][20][21][22][23][24] SpaceX uses the Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle to launch Dragon 2.[5]

Crew Dragon

[edit]

Crew Dragon incorporates an integrated pusher launch escape system consisting of eight SuperDraco engines, capable of accelerating the capsule away from the launch vehicle in an emergency. SpaceX originally intended to use the SuperDraco engines to land Crew Dragon on land, with parachutes and an ocean splashdown employed only in the case of an aborted launch. Precision water landing under parachutes was proposed to NASA as "the baseline return and recovery approach for the first few flights" of Crew Dragon.[25] Propulsive landing was later cancelled, leaving ocean splashdown under parachutes as the only option.[26]

In 2012, SpaceX was in talks with Orbital Outfitters about developing space suits to wear during launch and re-entry.[27] Each crew member wears a custom space suit fitted for them. The suit is primarily designed for use inside the Dragon (IVA type suit): however, in the case of a rapid cabin depressurization, the suit can protect the crew members. The suit can also provide cooling for astronauts during normal flight.[28][29] For the Demo-1 mission, a test dummy was fitted with the spacesuit and sensors. The spacesuit is made from Nomex, a fire retardant fabric similar to Kevlar.

The spacecraft's design was unveiled on 29 May 2014, during a press event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.[30][31][32] In October 2014, NASA selected the Dragon spacecraft as one of the candidates to fly American astronauts to the International Space Station, under the Commercial Crew Program.[33][34][35] In March 2022, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters that "We are finishing our final (capsule), but we still are manufacturing components, because we'll be refurbishing".[36] SpaceX later decided to build a fifth Crew Dragon capsule, to be available by 2024.[37] SpaceX also manufactures a new expendable trunk for each flight.

SpaceX's CCtCap contract values each seat on a Crew Dragon flight to be around US$88 million,[38] while the face value of each seat has been estimated by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to be around US$55 million.[39][40][41] This contrasts with the 2014 Soyuz launch price of US$76 million per seat for NASA astronauts.[42]

Cargo Dragon

[edit]

Although Dragon 2 was intended from the earliest design concept to carry crew, or with fewer seats, both crew and cargo, a second round of multi-year cargo supply contracts (also known as CRS-2) was solicited by NASA in 2014, to supply the ISS in 2020–2024. This led to SpaceX proposing a separately-named model, Cargo Dragon, for this mission.[43] SpaceX won a contract award for Cargo Dragon as a result of the CRS-2 bid competition, with contracts awarded in January 2016 for six flights. As of April 2024, Cargo Dragon has completed 9 successful missions to and from the ISS with six more planned.

Cargo Dragons are different from the crewed variant by launching without seats, cockpit controls, astronaut life support systems, and SuperDraco abort engines.[44][45] Cargo Dragon improves on many aspects of the original Dragon design, including the recovery and refurbishment process.[46]

Announced on 29 August 2021 during the CRS-23 launch is a new feature called Extend-the-Lab installed in the Cargo Dragon. "Our new Cargo Dragon vehicle is also able to act as a laboratory in the advancement of science and research. We call this capability Extend-the-Lab. It allows some powered payloads to remain on Dragon for experimentation during the duration of the mission. This is especially helpful when there is limited to no space on station for additional science. And it also helps cut down the amount of time the crew has to move payloads in and out of Dragon. For CRS-23 there are 3 Extend-the-Lab payloads launching with the mission, and once docked, a 4th which is currently already on the space station will be added to Dragon".[47][48]

The ISS Deorbit Vehicle is a planned, specially modified Cargo Dragon that will be used to deorbit the ISS and direct any remnants into a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean that has come to be known as the spacecraft cemetery.[49] The vehicle will attach to the ISS using one of the Cargo Dragon vehicles, which will be paired with a significantly lengthened trunk module which will be equipped with 46 Draco thrusters (instead of the normal 16) and will carry 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) of propellant, nearly six times the normal load. NASA plans to launch the deorbit vehicle in 2030 where it will remain attached, dormant, for about a year as the station's orbit naturally decays to 220 km (140 mi). The spacecraft would then conduct one or more orientation burns to lower the perigee to 150 km (93 mi), followed by a final deorbiting burn.[50] In June 2024, NASA awarded a contract worth up to $843 million to SpaceX to build the deorbit vehicle as it works to secure funding.[51][52]

Design

[edit]
Crew Dragon Resilience in the LC-39A Horizontal Integration Facility in November 2020 preparing for the launch of Crew-1.

Aligned with SpaceX's goal to dramatically lower space transportation costs, Dragon 2 was designed for reusability, significantly reducing expenses associated with spacecraft production. Composed of a reusable capsule and a disposable trunk, Dragon 2 represents a departure from previous spacecraft that were typically expended after a single use, even upon return to Earth.

SpaceX and NASA initially certified the capsule to be used for five missions. As of March 2024, they are working to certify it for up to fifteen missions.[53]

To maximize cost-effectiveness, SpaceX incorporated several innovative design choices. The Crew Dragon employs eight side-mounted SuperDraco engines for its emergency escape system, eliminating the need for a traditional, disposable escape tower. Furthermore, instead of housing the critical and expensive environmental control and propellant storage systems in a disposable service module, Dragon 2 integrates them within the reusable capsule.

Crew Dragon Resilience, with the solar panels integrated in its trunk

The trunk serves as an adapter between the capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage and also includes solar panels, a heat-dissipation radiator, and fins to provide aerodynamic stability during emergency aborts.[25] Dragon 2 integrates solar arrays directly into the trunk's structure, replacing the deployable panels of its predecessor, Dragon 1. The trunk can also accommodate unpressurized cargo, such as the Roll Out Solar Array transported to the ISS.

The typical Crew Dragon mission includes four astronauts: a commander who leads the mission and has primary responsibility for operating the spacecraft, a pilot who serves as backup for both command and operations and two mission specialists who may have specific duties assigned depending on the mission. However, the Crew Dragon can fly missions with just two astronauts as needed, and in an emergency, up to seven astronauts could return to Earth from the ISS.[7]

On the ground, crews enter the capsule through a side hatch.

On the Crew Dragon, above the two center seats (occupied by the commander and pilot), there is a three-screen control panel. The two side seats (occupied by the mission specialists) have windows. Below the seats is the cargo pallet, where around 230 kilograms (500 lb) of items can be stowed.[54] In the ceiling there is a small space toilet (with privacy curtain),[55] and International Docking System Standard (IDSS) port are located on the capsule's ceiling. For missions not requiring ISS docking, the IDSS port can be replaced with a 1.2-meter domed plexiglass window offering panoramic views, similar to the ISS Cupola.[56] Additionally, SpaceX has developed a "Skywalker" hatch for missions involving extravehicular activities.[57]

The Cargo Dragon is also loaded from the side hatch and has an IDSS port on the ceiling. However, it lacks the control panels, windows, and seats of the Crew Dragon.

The spacecraft can be operated in full vacuum, and "the crew will wear SpaceX-designed space suits to protect them from a rapid cabin depressurization emergency event". The spacecraft has also been designed to be able to land safely with a leak "of up to an equivalent orifice of 6.35 mm [0.25 in] in diameter".[25]

The spacecraft's nose cone protects the docking port and four forward-facing thrusters during ascent and reentry. This component pivots open for in-space operations.[25][32] Dragon 2's propellant and helium pressurant for emergency abort and orbital maneuvers are stored in composite-carbon-overwrap titanium spherical tanks at the capsule's base.

For launch aborts, the capsule relies on eight SuperDraco engines arranged in four redundant pairs. Each engine generates 71 kN (16,000 lbf) of thrust.[30] Sixteen smaller Draco thrusters placed around the spacecraft control its attitude and perform orbital maneuvers.

Crew Dragon Freedom with its parachutes deployed

When the capsule returns to Earth, a PICA-X heat shield safeguards the capsule during reentry. Dragon 2 uses a total of six parachutes (two drogues and four mains) to decelerate after atmospheric entry and before splashdown, compared to the five used by Dragon 1.[58] The additional parachute was required by NASA as a safety measure after a Dragon 1 suffered a parachute malfunction. The company also went through two rounds of parachute development before being certified to fly with crew.[59]

Crewed flights

[edit]
The Crew Dragon mockup (background) and four of the astronauts of its first two crewed missions (foreground), from left to right: Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Michael S. Hopkins, and Victor J. Glover

Crew Dragon is used by both commercial and government customers. Axiom launches commercial astronauts to the ISS and intends to eventually launch to their own private space station. NASA flights to the ISS have four astronauts, with the added payload mass and volume used to carry pressurized cargo.[58]

On 16 September 2014, NASA announced that SpaceX and Boeing had been selected to provide crew transportation to the ISS. SpaceX was to receive up to US$2.6 billion under this contract to provide development test flights and up to six operational flights.[60] Dragon was the less expensive proposal,[34] but NASA's William H. Gerstenmaier considered the Boeing Starliner proposal the stronger of the two. However, Crew Dragon's first operational flight, SpaceX Crew-1, was on 16 November 2020 after several test flights, while Starliner suffered multiple problems and delays, with its first operational flight slipping to no earlier than early 2025.[61]

In a departure from the prior NASA practice, where construction contracts with commercial firms led to direct NASA operation of the spacecraft, NASA is purchasing space transport services from SpaceX, including construction, launch, and operation of the Dragon 2.[62]

In August 2018, NASA and SpaceX agreed on the loading procedures for propellants, vehicle fluids and crew. High-pressure helium will be loaded first, followed by the passengers approximately two hours prior to the scheduled launch; the ground crew will then depart the launch pad and move to a safe distance. The launch escape system will be activated approximately 40 minutes prior to launch, with propellant loading commencing several minutes later.[63]

The first automated test mission launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 March 2019.[64] After schedule slips,[65] the first crewed flight launched on 30 May 2020[66] with the launch of the Demo-2 mission.

In June 2019, Bigelow Aerospace announced it had reserved with SpaceX up to four missions of four passengers each to the ISS as early as 2020 and planned to sell them for around US$52 million per seat.[67] These plans were cancelled by September 2019.

Space Adventures contracted SpaceX for a five-day high elliptic orbit space tourism mission with a Crew Dragon in 2022.[68][69] In October 2021, Space Adventures stated that the contract had expired and would not be executed, but left open the possibility of a partnership with SpaceX in the future.[70]

Testing

[edit]

SpaceX planned a series of four flight tests for the Crew Dragon: a pad abort test, an unmanned orbital flight to the ISS, an in-flight abort test, and finally, a crewed flight to the ISS,[71] which was initially planned for July 2019,[65] but after a Dragon capsule explosion, was delayed to May 2020.[72]

Pad abort test

[edit]
Main article: Dragon 2 Pad Abort Test
Dragon 2 hover test (24159153709)
Pad abort test of a Dragon 2 article on 6 May 2015 at CCAFS, SLC-40

The pad abort test was conducted successfully on 6 May 2015 at SpaceX's leased SLC-40 launch site.[58] Dragon landed safely in the ocean to the east of the launchpad 99 seconds after ignition of the SuperDraco engines.[73] While a flight-like Dragon 2 and trunk were used for the pad abort test, they rested atop a truss structure for the test rather than a full Falcon 9 rocket. A crash test dummy embedded with a suite of sensors was placed inside the test vehicle to record acceleration loads and forces at the crew seat, while the remaining six seats were loaded with weights to simulate full-passenger-load weight.[62][74] The test objective was to demonstrate sufficient total impulse, thrust and controllability to conduct a safe pad abort. A fuel mixture ratio issue was detected after the flight in one of the eight SuperDraco engines causing it to under perform, but did not materially affect the flight.[75][76][77]

On 24 November 2015, SpaceX conducted a test of Dragon 2's hovering abilities at the firm's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. In a video, the spacecraft is shown suspended by a hoisting cable and igniting its SuperDraco engines to hover for about 5 seconds, balancing on its 8 engines firing at reduced thrust to compensate exactly for gravity.[78] The test vehicle was the same capsule that performed the pad abort test earlier in 2015; it was nicknamed DragonFly.[79]

Demo-1: orbital flight test

[edit]
Main article: Crew Dragon Demo-1
Launch of Demo-1, Crew Dragon's maiden spaceflight

In 2015, NASA named its first Commercial Crew astronaut cadre of four veteran astronauts to work with SpaceX and Boeing – Robert Behnken, Eric Boe, Sunita Williams, and Douglas Hurley.[80] The Demo-1 mission completed the last milestone of the Commercial Crew Development program, paving the way to starting commercial services under an upcoming ISS Crew Transportation Services contract.[62][81] On 3 August 2018, NASA announced the crew for the DM-2 mission.[82] The crew of two consisted of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Behnken previously flew as mission specialist on the STS-123 and the STS-130 missions. Hurley previously flew as a pilot on the STS-127 mission and on the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135.[83]

The first orbital test of Crew Dragon was an uncrewed mission, commonly called "Demo-1" and launched on 2 March 2019.[84][85] The spacecraft tested the approach and automated docking procedures with the ISS,[86] remained docked until 8 March 2019, then conducted the full re-entry, splashdown and recovery steps to qualify for a crewed mission.[87][88] Life-support systems were monitored for the entirety the test flight. The same capsule was planned to be re-used in June 2019 for an in-flight abort test before it exploded on 20 April 2019.[84][89]

Explosion during testing

[edit]

On 20 April 2019, Crew Dragon C204, the capsule used in the Demo-1 mission, was destroyed in an explosion during static fire testing at the Landing Zone 1 facility.[90][91] On the day of the explosion, the initial testing of the Crew Dragon's Draco thrusters was successful, with the anomaly occurring during the test of the SuperDraco abort system.[92]

Telemetry, high-speed camera footage, and analysis of recovered debris indicate the problem occurred when a small amount of dinitrogen tetroxide leaked into a helium line used to pressurize the propellant tanks. The leakage apparently occurred during pre-test processing. As a result, the pressurization of the system 100 ms before firing damaged a check valve and resulted in the explosion.[92][93]

SpaceX modified the Dragon 2 replacing check valves with burst discs, which are designed for single use, and the adding of flaps to each SuperDraco to seal the thrusters prior to splashdown, preventing water intrusion.[94] The SuperDraco engine test was repeated on 13 November 2019 with Crew Dragon C205. The test was successful, showing that the modifications made to the vehicle were successful.[95]

Since the destroyed capsule had been slated for use in the upcoming in-flight abort test, the explosion and investigation delayed that test and the subsequent crewed orbital test.[96]

In-flight abort test

[edit]
Main article: Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test
Liftoff of Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

The Crew Dragon in-flight abort test was launched on 19 January 2020 at 15:30 UTC from LC-39A on a suborbital trajectory to conduct a separation and abort scenario in the troposphere at transonic velocities shortly after passing through max Q, where the vehicle experiences maximum aerodynamic pressure. The Dragon 2 used its SuperDraco abort engines to push itself away from the Falcon 9 after an intentional premature engine cutoff, after which the Falcon was destroyed by aerodynamic forces. The Dragon followed its suborbital trajectory to apogee, at which point the spacecraft's trunk was jettisoned. The smaller Draco engines were then used to orient the vehicle for the descent. All major functions were executed, including separation, engine firings, parachute deployment, and landing.

Dragon 2 splashed down at 15:38:54 UTC just off the Florida coast in the Atlantic Ocean.[97] The test objective was to demonstrate the ability to safely move away from the ascending rocket under the most challenging atmospheric conditions of the flight trajectory, imposing the worst structural stress of a real flight on the rocket and spacecraft.[58] The abort test was performed using a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket with a fully fueled second stage with a mass simulator replacing the Merlin engine.[98]

Earlier, this test had been scheduled before the uncrewed orbital test,[99] however, SpaceX and NASA considered it safer to use a flight representative capsule rather than the test article from the pad abort test.[100]

This test was previously planned to use the capsule C204 from Demo-1, however, C204 was destroyed in an explosion during a static fire testing on 20 April 2019.[101] Capsule C205, originally planned for Demo-2 was used for the In-Flight Abort Test[102] with C206 being planned for use during Demo-2. This was the final flight test of the spacecraft before it began carrying astronauts to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Prior to the flight test, teams completed launch day procedures for the first crewed flight test, from suit-up to launch pad operations. The joint teams conducted full data reviews that needed to be completed prior to NASA astronauts flying on the system during SpaceX's Demo-2 mission.[103]

Demo-2: crewed orbital flight test

[edit]
Main article: Crew Dragon Demo-2
SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour as it approached the International Space Station

On 17 April 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the first crewed Crew Dragon Demo-2 to the International Space Station would launch on 27 May 2020.[104] Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley crewed the mission, marking the first crewed launch to the International Space Station from U.S. soil since STS-135 in July 2011. The original launch was postponed to 30 May 2020 due to weather conditions at the launch site.[105] The second launch attempt was successful, with capsule C206, later named Endeavour by the crew, launching on 30 May 2020 19:22 UTC.[106][107] The capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on 31 May 2020 at 14:27 UTC.[108][109][110] On 2 August 2020, Crew Dragon undocked and splashed-down successfully in the Atlantic Ocean. Launching in the Dragon 2 spacecraft was described by astronaut Bob Behnken as "smooth off the pad" but "we were definitely driving and riding a dragon all the way up ... a little bit less g's [than the Space Shuttle] but more 'alive' is probably the best way I would describe it".[111]

Endeavour capsule being recovered after splashdown

Regarding descent in the spacecraft, Behnken stated, "Once we descended a little bit into the atmosphere, Dragon really came alive. It started to fire thrusters and keep us pointed in the appropriate direction. The atmosphere starts to make noise—you can hear that rumble outside the vehicle. And as the vehicle tries to control, you feel a little bit of that shimmy in your body. ... We could feel those small rolls and pitches and yaws—all those little motions were things we picked up on inside the vehicle. ... All the separation events, from the trunk separation through the parachute firings, were very much like getting hit in the back of the chair with a baseball bat ... pretty light for the trunk separation but with the parachutes it was a pretty significant jolt".[112]

List of vehicles

[edit]
Dragon 2 vehicles[113][114][115]
S/N Name Type Status Flights Flight time Total flight time Notes Cat.
C201 DragonFly Prototype Retired 1 99s (Pad Abort Test) 99s Prototype used for pad abort test at Cape Canaveral and tethered hover tests at the McGregor Test Facility.
C202 None Prototype Retired N/A N/A N/A Pressure vessel qualification module used for structural testing.
C203 None Prototype In use N/A N/A N/A Environmental control and life support system testing module, still in use for human-in-the-loop testing.
C204 None Crew Destroyed 1 6d, 5h, 56m (Demo-1) 6d, 5h, 56m First Dragon 2 to fly in space. Only flight was Demo-1; accidentally destroyed during ground testing of the abort thrusters weeks after the flight.
C205 None Crew Retired 1 8m, 54s (In-Flight Abort Test) 8m, 54s Was originally to be used on Demo-2 but instead flew the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test due to the destruction of C204 and was retired afterwards.
C206 Endeavour Crew Active
(docked to ISS) 		5
638d, 12h, 55m (mission in progress) First vehicle to carry crew; named after Space Shuttle Endeavour. First flown during Crew Demo-2.[116] Has since flown Crew-2,[117] Axiom-1, and Crew-6. Currently in flight on Crew-8 and docked to the ISS.[118]
C207 Resilience Crew Active 2
170d, 5h, 32m First flew on Crew-1 on 16 November 2020.[119] Used for Inspiration4, featuring the largest window ever flown in space in place of the docking adapter.[120] Scheduled to fly Polaris Dawn.
C208 None Cargo Active 4
132d, 21h, 41m First Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-21, CRS-23, CRS-25 and CRS-28 missions.[121]
C209 None Cargo Active 4
142d, 2h, 7m Second Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27 and CRS-30 missions.
C210 Endurance Crew Active 3
532d, 15h First flew on Crew-3 on 11 November 2021.[122] Has since flown Crew-5 and Crew-7. Scheduled to fly Fram2.
C211 None Cargo Active 2
88d, 7h, 4m Third Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-26 and CRS-29 missions.[123][124]
C212 Freedom Crew Active 3
201d, 10h, 11m First flew on Crew-4 on 24 April 2022.[123] Has since flown Axiom-2 and Axiom-3. Scheduled to fly Crew-9.
C213 TBA Crew Under construction[37] None None None Scheduled to make maiden flight on Crew-10.[125]

List of flights

[edit]

List includes only completed or currently manifested missions. Dates are listed in UTC, and for future events, they are the earliest possible opportunities (also known as NET dates) and may change.

Crew Dragon flights

[edit]
Mission and Patch Capsule[115] Launch date Landing date Remarks Crew Outcome
Pad Abort Test (patch) C201 DragonFly 6 May 2015 6 May 2015 — Success
Demo-1 (patch) C204 2 March 2019[84] 8 March 2019 Uncrewed orbital test flight — Success
In-Flight Abort Test (patch) C205.1 19 January 2020[126] 19 January 2020 — Success
Demo-2 C206.1 Endeavour 30 May 2020[127][128] 2 August 2020 First crewed flight test of Dragon 2. The mission was extended from two weeks to nine, in order to allow the crew to bolster activity on the ISS ahead of Crew-1, including partaking in four spacewalks.
Success
Crew-1 C207.1 Resilience 16 November 2020[129][130] 2 May 2021[119] First operational Commercial Crew flight, flying four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. Roscosmos had not yet certified the Crew Dragon vehicle, so a third NASA astronaut was added instead of a Russian cosmonaut.[131] Broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, previously held by the Skylab 4 mission.[132]
Success
Crew-2 C206.2 ♺ Endeavour 23 April 2021[133] 9 November 2021[134] First reuse of a capsule and booster rocket. Crew includes the first ESA astronaut to fly on Crew Dragon. After spending almost 200 days in orbit, the Crew Dragon Endeavour set the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle previously set by her sibling Crew Dragon Resilience on May 2, 2021.[135]
Success
Inspiration4 (patch 1 and 2) C207.2 ♺ Resilience 16 September 2021[138] 18 September 2021[139] The first all-civilian mission to orbit. The flight reached a 585 km (364 mi) orbit and the crew conducted science and medical experiments and public outreach activities for 3 days.[140] First standalone orbital Crew Dragon flight, and the first flight with the cupola.
Success
Crew-3 C210.1 Endurance 11 November 2021[141] 6 May 2022[142]
Success
Axiom-1 (patch) C206.3 ♺ Endeavour 8 April 2022[143] 25 April 2022 First Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. First fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom employee served as commander with three paying tourists.
Success
Crew-4 C212.1 Freedom 27 April 2022[144] 14 October 2022[145]
Success
Crew-5 C210.2 ♺ Endurance 5 October 2022[146] 12 March 2023[147] First crew to include a Russian cosmonaut as part of Dragon–Soyuz swap flights that ensure that all countries have familiarity with their separate systems, if either vehicle is grounded for an extended period.[148]
Success
Crew-6 C206.4 ♺ Endeavour 2 March 2023 4 September 2023
Success
Axiom-2 (patch) C212.2 ♺ Freedom 21 May 2023[149] 31 May 2023 Fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom employee served as commander, Saudi Space Agency bought two seats and sent two astronauts to research cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity in space.[150] Third seat purchased by a tourist.
Success
Crew-7 C210.3 ♺ Endurance 26 August 2023[151] 12 March 2024
Success
Axiom-3 (patch) C212.3 ♺ Freedom 18 January 2024[152] 9 February 2024 Fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom employee served as commander, other seats purchased by AM, TUA and SNSA/ESA.
Success
Crew-8 C206.5 ♺ Endeavour 4 March 2024[153] September 2024 (planned)
Docked to the ISS
Polaris Dawn (patch) C207.3 ♺ Resilience 26 August 2024 31 August 2024 First of planned three flights of Polaris Program by Jared Isaacman. First private flight to include spacewalk. Aimed to fly "farther than any other human spaceflight in 50 years".[154][155]
Planned
Crew-9 C212.4 ♺ Freedom 24 September 2024 February 2025 Launch delayed and crew may be reduced because of issues with the Boeing Starliner Calypso currently docked to the ISS.[156] Will be the first crewed mission to launch from SLC-40.[157]
Planned
Fram2 (patch) C210.4 ♺ Endurance Q4 2024[158] Q4 2024 Fully private orbital flight. First ever crewed mission launched into Polar Orbit. First flight of Crew Dragon without any American on board.
Planned
Crew-10[159] C213.1[125] February 2025 TBA
Planned
Axiom-4 TBA Q2 2025[160] Q2 2025 Fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom employee will serve as commander; other seats purchased by ISRO, POLSA/ESA and the Government of Hungary.
Planned
Vast-1[161] TBA August 2025 TBA Servicing of Haven-1 Space Station TBA Planned
Axiom-5 TBA 2025[162] 2025 Fully private flight to the ISS. TBA Planned
Polaris-2 TBA TBA TBA Last Polaris Program flight to use Crew Dragon (final flight plans to use Starship).[155]
Planned
Crew-11[163] TBA TBD TBA Scheduled to launch in 2026, however, NASA has requested the mission be ready to go by August 2025 as an alternate to the Starliner-1 mission scheduled in that slot.[125]
Planned
Crew-12[163] TBA TBA TBA TBA Planned
Crew-13[163] TBA TBA TBA TBA Planned
Crew-14[163] TBA TBA TBA TBA Planned

Cargo Dragon flights

[edit]
Mission and Patch Capsule[164] Launch date Landing date Description Outcome
CRS-21 C208.1 6 December 2020, 16:17 14 January 2021 First SpaceX mission performed under the CRS-2 contract with NASA and the first flight of Cargo Dragon 2. Delivered the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock module to the ISS along with 2,900 kg (6,400 lb) of cargo. Success
CRS-22 C209.1 3 June 2021, 17:29 10 July 2021 Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 1 and iROSA 2 Success
CRS-23 C208.2 ♺ 29 August 2021, 07:14 1 October 2021 Success
CRS-24 C209.2 ♺ 21 December 2021, 10:07 24 January 2022 Success
CRS-25 C208.3 ♺ 15 July 2022, 00:44 20 August 2022 Success
CRS-26 C211.1 26 November 2022, 19:20[165] 11 January 2023 Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 3 and iROSA 4.[166] Success
CRS-27 C209.3 ♺ 15 March 2023, 00:30[167] 15 April 2023 Success
CRS-28 C208.4 ♺ 5 June 2023, 15:47[168] 30 June 2023 Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 5 and iROSA 6[169] With this mission, Dragon 2 fleet's 1,324 days in orbit surpassed the Space Shuttle. This was the 38th Dragon mission to ISS, surpassing the Shuttle's 37.[170] Success
CRS-29 C211.2 ♺ 10 November 2023, 01:28[171] 22 December 2023 Success
CRS-30 C209.4 ♺ 21 March 2024, 20:55[172] 30 April 2024 First Dragon 2 launch from SLC-40 Success
CRS-31 C208.5 ♺ Mid-October 2024[157] Planned
CRS-32 C211.3 ♺ December 2024 (planned)[173] Planned
CRS-33 TBA March 2025 (planned)[173] Planned
CRS-34 TBA Q3 2025 (planned)[173] Planned
CRS-35 TBA 2026 (planned)[173] Planned
United States Deorbit Vehicle TBA 2030 (planned)[174] To deorbit the ISS after it is decommissioned. Planned

Timeline

[edit]

Crew Dragon has flown eight operational CCP missions and six other missions. Cargo Dragon has flown ten missions.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The reentry capsule weighs 9,600 kg (21,200 lb) including crew + 150 kg (330 lb) payload (Crew Dragon Demo-2)
  2. ^ up to 2,507 kg (5,527 lb) pressurized and up to 800 kg (1,800 lb) unpressurized
  3. ^ Alongside the 3 other crew members, Megan McArthur is using the same seat of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour in this mission which her husband, Bob Behnken, used in SpaceX Demo-2 mission, the first mission of the Endeavour capsule.[136]
  4. ^ The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-2 is called Mission Alpha, which is headed by Thomas Pesquet.[137]
  5. ^ The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-3 is called Mission Cosmic Kiss, which is headed by Matthias Maurer shown by the logo

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