SpaceX Dragon 1 is a class of fourteen partially reusable cargo spacecraft developed by SpaceX, an American private space transportation company. The spacecraft flew 23 missions between 2010 and 2020. Dragon was launched into orbit by the company's Falcon 9 launch vehicle to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was succeeded by the Dragon 2 spacecraft which has both crewed and cargo versions.
During its maiden flight in December 2010, Dragon became the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to be recovered successfully from orbit. On May 25, 2012, Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with and attach to the ISS.[4][5] SpaceX contracted to deliver cargo to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services program, and Dragon began regular cargo flights in October 2012.[6][7] With the Dragon spacecraft and the Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus, NASA sought to increase its partnerships with domestic commercial aviation and aeronautics industry.[8]
On June 3, 2017, the C106 capsule, largely assembled from previously flown components from the CRS-4 mission in September 2014, was launched again for the first time on CRS-11, after being refurbished.[9]
The last flight of the Dragon 1 spacecraft launched March 7, 2020 (UTC) on cargo resupply mission (CRS-20) to International Space Station (ISS). This was the last mission of SpaceX's first Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract, and marked the retirement of the Dragon 1 fleet. Further SpaceX commercial resupply flights to ISS under the second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) program use the Cargo Dragon variant of the Dragon 2 spacecraft, which is capable of fully automated docking with the ISS.[10]
History
SpaceX began developing the Dragon spacecraft in late 2004, making a public announcement in 2006 with a plan of entering service in 2009. Also in 2006, SpaceX won a contract to use Dragon for commercial resupply services to the International Space Station for the American federal space agency, NASA.
NASA ISS resupply contract
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
In 2005, NASA solicited proposals for a commercial ISS resupply cargo vehicle to replace the then-soon-to-be-retired Space Shuttle, through its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) development program. The Dragon space capsule was a part of SpaceX's proposal, submitted to NASA in March 2006. SpaceX's COTS proposal was issued as part of a team, which also included MD Robotics, the Canadian company that had built the ISS's Canadarm2.
On August 18, 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had been chosen, along with Kistler Aerospace, to develop cargo launch services for the ISS.[11] The initial plan called for three demonstration flights of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to be conducted between 2008 and 2010.[12][13] SpaceX and Kistler were to receive up to US$278 million and US$207 million respectively,[13] if they met all NASA milestones, but Kistler failed to meet its obligations, and its contract was terminated in 2007.[14] NASA later re-awarded Kistler's contract to Orbital Sciences Corporation.[14][15]
Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1
On December 23, 2008, NASA awarded a US$1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract to SpaceX, with contract options that could potentially increase the maximum contract value to US$3.1 billion.[16] The contract called for 12 flights, with an overall minimum of 20000 kg of cargo to be carried to the ISS.[16]
On February 23, 2009, SpaceX announced that its chosen phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator heat shield material, PICA-X, had passed heat stress tests in preparation for Dragon's maiden launch.[17][18] The primary proximity-operations sensor for the Dragon spacecraft, the DragonEye, was tested in early 2009 during the STS-127 mission, when it was mounted near the docking port of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and used while the Shuttle approached the International Space Station. The DragonEye's lidar and thermography (thermal imaging) abilities were both tested successfully.[19][20] The COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU) and Crew Command Panel (CCP) were delivered to the ISS during the late 2009 STS-129 mission.[21] The CUCU allows the ISS to communicate with Dragon and the CCP allows ISS crew members to issue basic commands to Dragon.[21] In summer 2009, SpaceX hired former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox as vice president of their new Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance Department, in preparation for crews using the spacecraft.[22]
As a condition of the NASA CRS contract, SpaceX analyzed the orbital radiation environment on all Dragon systems, and how the spacecraft would respond to spurious radiation events. That analysis and the Dragon design – which uses an overall Fault tolerance triple redundant computer architecture, rather than individual radiation hardening of each computer processor – was reviewed by independent experts before being approved by NASA for the cargo flights.
During March 2015, it was announced that SpaceX had been awarded an additional three missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. These additional missions are SpaceX CRS-13, SpaceX CRS-14 and SpaceX CRS-15 and would cover the cargo needs of 2017. On February 24, 2016, SpaceNews disclosed that SpaceX had been awarded a further five missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. This additional tranche of missions had SpaceX CRS-16 and SpaceX CRS-17 manifested for FY2017 while SpaceX CRS-18, SpaceX CRS-19 and SpaceX CRS-20 and were notionally manifested for FY2018.
Commercial Resupply Services Phase 2
The Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract definition and solicitation period commenced in 2014. In January 2016, NASA awarded contracts to SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation for a minimum of six launches each, with missions planned until at least 2024. The maximum potential value of all the contracts was announced as US$14 billion, but the minimum requirements would be considerably less.[23] No further financial information was disclosed.
CRS-2 launches began in late 2019.
Demonstration flights
The first flight of the Falcon 9, a private flight, occurred in June 2010 and launched a stripped-down version of the Dragon capsule. This Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit had initially been used as a ground test bed to validate several of the capsule's systems. During the flight, the unit's primary mission was to relay aerodynamic data captured during the ascent.[24][25] It was not designed to survive re-entry, and did not.
NASA contracted for three test flights from SpaceX, but later reduced that number to two. The first Dragon spacecraft launched on its first mission – contracted to NASA as COTS Demo Flight 1 – on December 8, 2010, and was successfully recovered following re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. The mission also marked the second flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[26] The DragonEye sensor flew again on STS-133 in February 2011 for further on-orbit testing.[27] In November 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a re-entry license for the Dragon capsule, the first such license ever awarded to a commercial vehicle.[28]
The second Dragon flight, also contracted to NASA as a demonstration mission, launched successfully on May 22, 2012, after NASA had approved SpaceX's proposal to combine the COTS 2 and 3 mission objectives into a single Falcon 9/Dragon flight, renamed COTS 2+.[29] Dragon conducted orbital tests of its navigation systems and abort procedures, before being grappled by the ISS' Canadarm2 and successfully berthing with the station on May 25, 2012, to offload its cargo.[30][31][32][33][34] Dragon returned to Earth on May 31, 2012, landing as scheduled in the Pacific Ocean, and was again successfully recovered.[35][36]
On August 23, 2012, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced that SpaceX had completed all required milestones under the COTS contract, and was cleared to begin operational resupply missions to the ISS.[37]
Returning research materials from orbit
Dragon spacecraft can return 3500 kg of cargo to Earth, which can be all unpressurized disposal mass, or up to 3000 kg of pressurized cargo, from the ISS,[2] and is the only current spacecraft capable of returning to Earth with a significant amount of cargo. Other than the Russian Soyuz crew capsule, Dragon is the only currently operating spacecraft designed to survive re-entry. Because Dragon allows for the return of critical materials to researchers in as little as 48 hours from splashdown, it opens the possibility of new experiments on ISS that can produce materials for later analysis on ground using more sophisticated instrumentation. For example, CRS-12 returned mice that have spent time in orbit which will help give insight into how microgravity impacts blood vessels in both the brain and eyes, and in determining how arthritis develops.[38]
Operational flights
Dragon was launched on its first operational CRS flight on October 8, 2012,[6] and completed the mission successfully on October 28, 2012. NASA initially contracted SpaceX for 12 operational missions, and later extended the CRS contract with 8 more flights, bringing the total to 20 launches until 2019. In 2016, a new batch of 6 missions under the CRS-2 contract was assigned to SpaceX; those missions are scheduled to be launched between 2020 and 2024.
Reuse of previously flown capsules
CRS-11, SpaceX's eleventh CRS mission, was successfully launched on June 3, 2017, from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A, being the 100th mission to be launched from that pad. This mission was the first to re-fly a previously flown Dragon capsule. This mission delivered 2,708 kilograms[39] of cargo to the International Space Station, including Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER).[40] The first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle landed successfully at Landing Zone 1. This mission launched for the first time a refurbished Dragon capsule,[41] serial number C106, which had flown in September 2014 on the CRS-4 mission,[42] and was the first time since 2011 a reused spacecraft arrived at the ISS.[43] Gemini SC-2 capsule is the only other reused capsule, but it was only reflown suborbitally in 1966.
CRS-12, SpaceX's twelfth CRS mission, was successfully launched on the first "Block 4" version of the Falcon 9 on August 14, 2017, from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A at the first attempt. This mission delivered 2349 kg of pressurized mass and 961 kg unpressurized. The external payload manifested for this flight was the CREAM cosmic-ray detector. This was the last flight of a newly built Dragon capsule; further missions used refurbished spacecraft.[44]
CRS-13, SpaceX's thirteenth CRS mission, was the second use of a previously flown Dragon capsule, but the first time in concordance with a reused first-stage booster. It was successfully launched on December 15, 2017, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 at the first attempt. This was the first launch from SLC-40 since the AMOS-6 pad anomaly. The booster was the previously flown core from the CRS-11 mission. This mission delivered 1560 kg of pressurized mass and 645 kg unpressurized. It returned from orbit and splashdown on January 13, 2018, making it the first space capsule to be reflown to orbit more than once.[45]
CRS-14, SpaceX's fourteenth CRS mission, was the third reuse of a previously flown Dragon capsule. It was successfully launched on April 2, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-40. It was successfully berthed to the ISS on April 4, 2018, and remained berthed for a month before returning cargo and science experiments back to Earth.
CRS-15, CRS-16, CRS-17, CRS-18, CRS-19, and CRS-20 were all flown with previously flown capsules.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
In 2005, NASA solicited proposals for a commercial ISS resupply cargo vehicle to replace the then-soon-to-be-retired Space Shuttle, through its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) development program. The Dragon space capsule was a part of SpaceX's proposal, submitted to NASA in March 2006. SpaceX's COTS proposal was issued as part of a team, which also included MD Robotics, the Canadian company that had built the ISS's Canadarm2.
On August 18, 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had been chosen, along with Kistler Aerospace, to develop cargo launch services for the ISS.[11] The initial plan called for three demonstration flights of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to be conducted between 2008 and 2010.[12][13] SpaceX and Kistler were to receive up to US$278 million and US$207 million respectively,[13] if they met all NASA milestones, but Kistler failed to meet its obligations, and its contract was terminated in 2007.[14] NASA later re-awarded Kistler's contract to Orbital Sciences Corporation.[14][15]
Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1
On December 23, 2008, NASA awarded a US$1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract to SpaceX, with contract options that could potentially increase the maximum contract value to US$3.1 billion.[16] The contract called for 12 flights, with an overall minimum of 20000 kg of cargo to be carried to the ISS.[16]
On February 23, 2009, SpaceX announced that its chosen phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator heat shield material, PICA-X, had passed heat stress tests in preparation for Dragon's maiden launch.[17][18] The primary proximity-operations sensor for the Dragon spacecraft, the DragonEye, was tested in early 2009 during the STS-127 mission, when it was mounted near the docking port of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and used while the Shuttle approached the International Space Station. The DragonEye's lidar and thermography (thermal imaging) abilities were both tested successfully.[19][20] The COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU) and Crew Command Panel (CCP) were delivered to the ISS during the late 2009 STS-129 mission.[21] The CUCU allows the ISS to communicate with Dragon and the CCP allows ISS crew members to issue basic commands to Dragon.[21] In summer 2009, SpaceX hired former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox as vice president of their new Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance Department, in preparation for crews using the spacecraft.[22]
As a condition of the NASA CRS contract, SpaceX analyzed the orbital radiation environment on all Dragon systems, and how the spacecraft would respond to spurious radiation events. That analysis and the Dragon design – which uses an overall Fault tolerance triple redundant computer architecture, rather than individual radiation hardening of each computer processor – was reviewed by independent experts before being approved by NASA for the cargo flights.
During March 2015, it was announced that SpaceX had been awarded an additional three missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. These additional missions are SpaceX CRS-13, SpaceX CRS-14 and SpaceX CRS-15 and would cover the cargo needs of 2017. On February 24, 2016, SpaceNews disclosed that SpaceX had been awarded a further five missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. This additional tranche of missions had SpaceX CRS-16 and SpaceX CRS-17 manifested for FY2017 while SpaceX CRS-18, SpaceX CRS-19 and SpaceX CRS-20 and were notionally manifested for FY2018.
Commercial Resupply Services Phase 2
The Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract definition and solicitation period commenced in 2014. In January 2016, NASA awarded contracts to SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation for a minimum of six launches each, with missions planned until at least 2024. The maximum potential value of all the contracts was announced as US$14 billion, but the minimum requirements would be considerably less.[23] No further financial information was disclosed.
CRS-2 launches began in late 2019.
Demonstration flights
The first flight of the Falcon 9, a private flight, occurred in June 2010 and launched a stripped-down version of the Dragon capsule. This Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit had initially been used as a ground test bed to validate several of the capsule's systems. During the flight, the unit's primary mission was to relay aerodynamic data captured during the ascent.[24][25] It was not designed to survive re-entry, and did not.
NASA contracted for three test flights from SpaceX, but later reduced that number to two. The first Dragon spacecraft launched on its first mission – contracted to NASA as COTS Demo Flight 1 – on December 8, 2010, and was successfully recovered following re-entry to Earth's atmosphere. The mission also marked the second flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[26] The DragonEye sensor flew again on STS-133 in February 2011 for further on-orbit testing.[27] In November 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a re-entry license for the Dragon capsule, the first such license ever awarded to a commercial vehicle.[28]
The second Dragon flight, also contracted to NASA as a demonstration mission, launched successfully on May 22, 2012, after NASA had approved SpaceX's proposal to combine the COTS 2 and 3 mission objectives into a single Falcon 9/Dragon flight, renamed COTS 2+.[29] Dragon conducted orbital tests of its navigation systems and abort procedures, before being grappled by the ISS' Canadarm2 and successfully berthing with the station on May 25, 2012, to offload its cargo.[30][31][32][33][34] Dragon returned to Earth on May 31, 2012, landing as scheduled in the Pacific Ocean, and was again successfully recovered.[35][36]
On August 23, 2012, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced that SpaceX had completed all required milestones under the COTS contract, and was cleared to begin operational resupply missions to the ISS.[37]
Returning research materials from orbit
Dragon spacecraft can return 3500 kg of cargo to Earth, which can be all unpressurized disposal mass, or up to 3000 kg of pressurized cargo, from the ISS,[2] and is the only current spacecraft capable of returning to Earth with a significant amount of cargo. Other than the Russian Soyuz crew capsule, Dragon is the only currently operating spacecraft designed to survive re-entry. Because Dragon allows for the return of critical materials to researchers in as little as 48 hours from splashdown, it opens the possibility of new experiments on ISS that can produce materials for later analysis on ground using more sophisticated instrumentation. For example, CRS-12 returned mice that have spent time in orbit which will help give insight into how microgravity impacts blood vessels in both the brain and eyes, and in determining how arthritis develops.[38]
Operational flights
Dragon was launched on its first operational CRS flight on October 8, 2012,[6] and completed the mission successfully on October 28, 2012. NASA initially contracted SpaceX for 12 operational missions, and later extended the CRS contract with 8 more flights, bringing the total to 20 launches until 2019. In 2016, a new batch of 6 missions under the CRS-2 contract was assigned to SpaceX; those missions are scheduled to be launched between 2020 and 2024.
Reuse of previously flown capsules
CRS-11, SpaceX's eleventh CRS mission, was successfully launched on June 3, 2017, from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A, being the 100th mission to be launched from that pad. This mission was the first to re-fly a previously flown Dragon capsule. This mission delivered 2,708 kilograms[39] of cargo to the International Space Station, including Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER).[40] The first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle landed successfully at Landing Zone 1. This mission launched for the first time a refurbished Dragon capsule,[41] serial number C106, which had flown in September 2014 on the CRS-4 mission,[42] and was the first time since 2011 a reused spacecraft arrived at the ISS.[43] Gemini SC-2 capsule is the only other reused capsule, but it was only reflown suborbitally in 1966.
CRS-12, SpaceX's twelfth CRS mission, was successfully launched on the first "Block 4" version of the Falcon 9 on August 14, 2017, from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A at the first attempt. This mission delivered 2349 kg of pressurized mass and 961 kg unpressurized. The external payload manifested for this flight was the CREAM cosmic-ray detector. This was the last flight of a newly built Dragon capsule; further missions used refurbished spacecraft.[44]
CRS-13, SpaceX's thirteenth CRS mission, was the second use of a previously flown Dragon capsule, but the first time in concordance with a reused first-stage booster. It was successfully launched on December 15, 2017, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40 at the first attempt. This was the first launch from SLC-40 since the AMOS-6 pad anomaly. The booster was the previously flown core from the CRS-11 mission. This mission delivered 1560 kg of pressurized mass and 645 kg unpressurized. It returned from orbit and splashdown on January 13, 2018, making it the first space capsule to be reflown to orbit more than once.[45]
CRS-14, SpaceX's fourteenth CRS mission, was the third reuse of a previously flown Dragon capsule. It was successfully launched on April 2, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-40. It was successfully berthed to the ISS on April 4, 2018, and remained berthed for a month before returning cargo and science experiments back to Earth.
CRS-15, CRS-16, CRS-17, CRS-18, CRS-19, and CRS-20 were all flown with previously flown capsules.
Crewed development program
In 2006, Elon Musk stated that SpaceX had built "a prototype flight crew capsule, including a thoroughly tested 30-man-day life-support system".[46] A video simulation of the launch escape system's operation was released in January 2011.[47] Musk stated in 2010 that the developmental cost of a crewed Dragon and Falcon 9 would be between US$800 million and US$1 billion.[48] In 2009 and 2010, Musk suggested on several occasions that plans for a crewed variant of the Dragon were proceeding and had a two-to-three-year timeline to completion.[49][50] SpaceX submitted a bid for the third phase of CCDev, CCiCap.[51][52] This evolved into the Crew dragon variant of the SpaceX Dragon 2.
Development funding
In 2014, SpaceX released the total combined development costs for both the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and the Dragon capsule. NASA provided US$396 million while SpaceX provided over US$450 million to fund both development efforts.[53]
Production
In December 2010, the SpaceX production line was reported to be manufacturing one new Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket every three months. Elon Musk stated in a 2010 interview that he planned to increase production turnover to one Dragon every six weeks by 2012.[54] Composite materials are extensively used in the spacecraft's manufacture to reduce weight and improve structural strength.[55]
By September 2013, SpaceX total manufacturing space had increased to nearly 1000000 ft2 and the factory had six Dragons in various stages of production. SpaceX published a photograph showing the six, including the next four NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) mission Dragons (CRS-3, CRS-4, CRS-5, CRS-6) plus the drop-test Dragon, and the pad-abort Dragon weldment for commercial crew program.[56]
Design
The Dragon spacecraft consists of a nose-cone cap, a conventional blunt-cone ballistic capsule, and an unpressurized cargo-carrier trunk equipped with two solar arrays.[57] The capsule uses a PICA-X heat shield, based on a proprietary variant of NASA's Phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) material, designed to protect the capsule during Earth atmospheric entry, even at high return velocities from Lunar and Martian missions.[58][59] The Dragon capsule is re-usable, and can fly multiple missions.[57] The trunk is not recoverable; it separates from the capsule before re-entry and burns up in Earth's atmosphere.[60] The trunk section, which carries the spacecraft's solar panels and allows the transport of unpressurized cargo to the ISS, was first used for cargo on the SpaceX CRS-2 mission.
The spacecraft is launched atop a Falcon 9 booster.[61] The Dragon capsule is equipped with 18 Draco thrusters.[62] During its initial cargo and crew flights, the Dragon capsule will land in the Pacific Ocean and be returned to the shore by ship.[63]
For the ISS Dragon cargo flights, the ISS's Canadarm2 grapples its Flight-Releasable Grapple Fixture and berths Dragon to the station's US Orbital Segment using a Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM).[64] The CRS Dragon does not have an independent means of maintaining a breathable atmosphere for astronauts and instead circulates in fresh air from the ISS.[65] For typical missions, Dragon is planned to remain berthed to the ISS for about 30 days.[66]
The Dragon capsule can transport 3310 kg of cargo, which can be all pressurized, all unpressurized, or a combination thereof. It can return to Earth 3310 kg, which can be all unpressurized disposal mass, or up to 3310 kg of return pressurized cargo, driven by parachute limitations. There is a volume constraint of 14 m3 trunk unpressurized cargo and 11.2 m3 of pressurized cargo (up or down).[67] The trunk was first used operationally on the Dragon's CRS-2 mission in March 2013.[68] Its solar arrays produce a peak power of 4 kW.[69]
The design was modified beginning with the fifth Dragon flight on the SpaceX CRS-3 mission to the ISS in March 2014. While the outer mold line of the Dragon was unchanged, the avionics and cargo racks were redesigned to supply substantially more electrical power to powered cargo devices, including the GLACIER freezer module and MERLIN freezer module freezer modules for transporting critical science payloads.[70]
Variants and derivatives
DragonLab
SpaceX planned to fly the Dragon spacecraft in a free-flying configuration, known as DragonLab.[57] Its subsystems include propulsion, power, thermal and environmental control (ECLSS), avionics, communications, thermal protection, flight software, guidance and navigation systems, and entry, descent, landing, and recovery gear.[71] It has a total combined upmass of 6000 kg upon launch, and a maximum downmass of 3000 kg when returning to Earth.[71] In November 2014, there were two DragonLab missions listed on the SpaceX launch manifest: one in 2016 and another in 2018.[72] However, these missions were removed from the manifest in early 2017, with no official SpaceX statement.[73] The American Biosatellites once performed similar uncrewed payload-delivery functions, and the Russian Bion satellites still continue to do so.
List of vehicles
List of missions
Specifications
DragonLab
The following specifications are published by SpaceX for the non-NASA, non-ISS commercial flights of the refurbished Dragon capsules, listed as "DragonLab" flights on the SpaceX manifest. The specifications for the NASA-contracted Dragon Cargo were not included in the 2009 DragonLab datasheet.[71]
Pressure vessel
Unpressurized sensor bay (recoverable payload)
- 0.1 m3 unpressurized payload volume.
- Sensor bay hatch opens after orbit insertion to allow full sensor access to the outer space environment, and closes before Earth atmosphere re-entry.[71]
Unpressurized trunk (non-recoverable)
Power, communication and command systems
- Power: twin solar panels providing 1500 watts average, 4000 watts peak, at 28 and 120 VDC.[71]
- Spacecraft communication: commercial standard RS-422 and military standard 1553 serial I/O, plus Ethernet communications for IP-addressable standard payload service.
- Command uplink: 300 kbit/s.[71]
- Telemetry/data downlink: 300 Mbit/s standard, fault-tolerant S-band telemetry and video transmitters.[71]
Pressure vessel
Unpressurized sensor bay (recoverable payload)
- 0.1 m3 unpressurized payload volume.
- Sensor bay hatch opens after orbit insertion to allow full sensor access to the outer space environment, and closes before Earth atmosphere re-entry.[71]
Unpressurized trunk (non-recoverable)
Power, communication and command systems
- Power: twin solar panels providing 1500 watts average, 4000 watts peak, at 28 and 120 VDC.[71]
- Spacecraft communication: commercial standard RS-422 and military standard 1553 serial I/O, plus Ethernet communications for IP-addressable standard payload service.
- Command uplink: 300 kbit/s.[71]
- Telemetry/data downlink: 300 Mbit/s standard, fault-tolerant S-band telemetry and video transmitters.[71]
Radiation tolerance
Dragon uses a "radiation-tolerant" design in the electronic hardware and software that make up its flight computers. The system uses three pairs of computers, each constantly checking on the others, to instantiate a fault-tolerant design. In the event of a radiation upset or soft error, one of the computer pairs will perform a soft reboot.[127] Including the flight computers, Dragon employs 18 triply redundant processing units, for a total of 54 processors.[127]
See also
- Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
- List of human spaceflight programs
- Space Shuttle successors
- Cargo Dragon C208 and C209
Comparable vehicles
Cargo
Crew
Cargo
Crew
External links
References
- "Audit Of Commercial Resupply Services to The International Space Station", Office of Inspector General, page 9, https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-18-016.pdf^
- SpaceX Dragon specs retrieved May 15, 2007^
- SpaceX Brochure – 2008 retrieved December 9, 2010^
- Kenneth Chang. Space X Capsule Docks at Space Station New York Times, May 25, 2012, retrieved May 25, 2012^
- SpaceX's Dragon Docks With Space Station—A First National Geographic, May 25, 2012, retrieved May 28, 2012^
- Liftoff! SpaceX Dragon Launches 1st Private Space Station Cargo Mission Space.com, October 8, 2012, retrieved October 8, 2012^
- Press Briefed on the Next Mission to the International Space Station NASA, March 20, 2012, retrieved April 11, 2012^
- NASA Taps SpaceX, Orbital Sciences to Haul Cargo to Space Station Space.com, December 23, 2008, retrieved March 1, 2011^
- Mark Carreau. SpaceX Advances Space Hardware Reuse With Latest Flight Aviation Week Network, June 3, 2017^
- Falcon 9 launches final first-generation Dragon spacenews.com, March 7, 2020, retrieved March 10, 2020^
- NASA selects crew, cargo launch partners Spaceflight Now, August 18, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2011^
- Valin Thorn. Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Overview NASA, January 11, 2007, retrieved April 15, 2012^
- Alan Boyle. SpaceX, Rocketplane win spaceship contest NBC News, August 18, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2011^
- Brian Berger. Time Runs out for RpK; New COTS Competition Starts Immediately Space.com, October 19, 2007, retrieved December 9, 2010^
- Chris Bergin. Orbital beat a dozen competitors to win NASA COTS contract NASASpaceflight.com, February 19, 2008, retrieved December 18, 2011^
- F9/Dragon Will Replace the Cargo Transport Function of the Space Shuttle after 2010 SpaceX, December 23, 2008, retrieved January 26, 2009^
- (original link is dead; see version at businesswire (accessed September 1, 2015) SpaceX Manufactured Heat Shield Material Passes High Temperature Tests Simulating Reentry Heating Conditions of Dragon Spacecraft SpaceX, February 23, 2009, retrieved July 16, 2009^
- Andrew Chaikin. 1 visionary + 3 launchers + 1,500 employees = ?: Is SpaceX changing the rocket equation? Air and Space Smithsonian, January 2012, retrieved November 13, 2011^
- UPDATE: Wednesday, 23 September 2009 SpaceX, September 23, 2009, retrieved December 18, 2011^
- Update: 23 September 2009. SpaceX.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.^
- Chris Bergin. SpaceX announce successful activation of Dragon's CUCU onboard ISS NASASpaceflight.com, March 28, 2010, retrieved April 27, 2012^
- Former astronaut Bowersox Joins SpaceX as vice president of Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance SpaceX, June 18, 2009, retrieved December 22, 2012^
- Sierra Nevada Corp. joins SpaceX and Orbital ATK in winning NASA resupply contracts The Washington Post, January 14, 2016, retrieved August 2, 2020^
- Guy Norris. SpaceX, Orbital Explore Using Their Launch Vehicles To Carry Humans Aviation Week, September 20, 2009, retrieved October 26, 2012^
- SpaceX Achieves Orbital Bullseye With Inaugural Flight of Falcon 9 Rocket: A major win for NASA's plan to use commercial rockets for astronaut transport SpaceX, June 7, 2010, retrieved June 9, 2010^
- Private space capsule's maiden voyage ends with a splash BBC News, December 8, 2010, retrieved November 16, 2011^
- STS-133: SpaceX's DragonEye set for late installation on Discovery NASASpaceflight.com, July 19, 2010, retrieved April 24, 2013^
- NASA Statements on FAA Granting Reentry License To SpaceX November 22, 2010, retrieved April 24, 2013^
- Justin Ray. SpaceX demo flights merged as launch date targeted Spaceflight Now, December 9, 2011, retrieved December 9, 2011^
- SpaceX's Dragon captured by ISS, preparing for historic berthing NASASpaceflight.com, May 25, 2012, retrieved May 25, 2012^
- "ISS welcomes SpaceX Dragon" Wired May 25, 2012, Retrieved September 13, 2012^
- SpaceX's Dragon already achieving key milestones following Falcon 9 ride NASASpaceflight.com, May 22, 2012, retrieved May 23, 2012^
- NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 22 May 2012 NASA via SpaceRef.com, May 22, 2012, retrieved May 23, 2012^
- Pierrot Durand. Cargo Aboard Dragon Spacecraft to Be Unloaded On May 28 French Tribune, May 28, 2012, retrieved May 28, 2012^
- Splashdown for SpaceX Dragon spacecraft BBC, May 31, 2012, retrieved June 21, 2018^
- SpaceX Dragon Capsule opens new era Reuters via BusinessTech.co.za, May 28, 2012, retrieved April 27, 2013^
- "NASA Administrator Announces New Commercial Crew And Cargo Milestones" NASA August 23, 2012, Retrieved September 4, 2012^
- SpaceX CRS-12 mission comes to a close with Dragon's splashdown SpaceFlight Insider, September 18, 2017, retrieved June 6, 2020^
- Stephen Clark. Cargo manifest for SpaceX's 11th resupply mission to the space station Spaceflight Now, retrieved June 3, 2017^
- The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR Mission NASA, retrieved February 26, 2016^
- Jeff Foust. SpaceX to reuse Dragon capsules on cargo missions SpaceNews, October 14, 2016, retrieved November 11, 2017^
- Chris Gebhardt. SpaceX static fires CRS-11 Falcon 9 Sunday ahead of ISS mission NASASpaceFlight.com, May 28, 2017, retrieved May 30, 2017^
- SpaceX's CRS-11 Dragon captured by Station for a second time www.nasaspaceflight.com, NASASpaceFlight.com, June 5, 2017, retrieved April 4, 2018^
- Chris Gebhardt. TDRS-M given priority over CRS-12 Dragon as launch dates realign NASASpaceFlight, July 26, 2017, retrieved January 11, 2020^
- Chris Bergin, Chris Gebhardt. SpaceX's CRS-13 Dragon returns home NASASpaceFlight.com, January 13, 2018, retrieved January 14, 2018^
- Brian Berger. SpaceX building reusable crew capsule NBC News, March 8, 2006, retrieved December 9, 2010^
- SpaceX – Commercial Crew Development (CCDEV) June 19, 2015, retrieved August 19, 2016^
- "NASA expects a gap in commercial crew funding" Spaceflightnow.com October 11, 2010, Retrieved February 28, 2011^
- This Week in Space interview with Elon Musk Spaceflight Now, January 24, 2010, retrieved November 28, 2016^
- Elon Musk's SpaceX presentation to the Augustine panel YouTube, June 2009, retrieved April 27, 2013^
- Zach Rosenberg. Boeing details bid to win NASA shuttle replacement FlightGlobal, March 30, 2012, retrieved April 15, 2012^
- Commercial Crew Integrated Capability NASA, January 23, 2012, retrieved January 25, 2012^
- Gwynne Shotwell. Discussion with Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO, SpaceX Atlantic Council, June 4, 2014, retrieved June 8, 2014^
- Denise Chow. Q & A with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Master of Private Space Dragons Space.com, December 8, 2010, retrieved May 31, 2012^
- Fibersim helps SpaceX manufacture composite parts for Dragon spacecraft ReinforcedPlastics.com, June 15, 2012, retrieved January 11, 2013^
- Emily Shanklin. Production at SpaceX SpaceX, September 24, 2013, retrieved September 29, 2013^
- Dragon Overview SpaceX, retrieved April 16, 2012^
- Stephen Clark. Second Falcon 9 rocket begins arriving at the Cape Spaceflight Now, July 16, 2010, retrieved July 16, 2010^
- Second Falcon 9 rocket begins arriving at the Cape Spaceflight Now, July 16, 2010, retrieved February 4, 2013^
- SpaceX CRS-2 Dragon return timeline Spaceflight Now, March 26, 2013, retrieved April 13, 2013^
- Thomas D. Jones. Tech Watch — Resident Astronaut Popular Mechanics, December 2006^
- SpaceX Updates SpaceX, December 10, 2007, retrieved December 11, 2007^
- SpaceX • COTS Flight 1 Press Kit SpaceX, December 6, 2010, retrieved April 29, 2012^
- Chris Bergin. ISS translates robotic assets in preparation to greet SpaceX's Dragon NASASpaceflight.com, April 12, 2012, retrieved April 15, 2012^
- Brenda J. Hernandez. SpaceX Dragon Air Circulation System SpaceX / American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2011, retrieved April 15, 2012^
- NASA Advisory Council Space Operations Committee NASA, July 2010, retrieved April 15, 2012^
- "The ISS CRS contract (signed 23 December 2008)"^
- Chris Bergin. Dragon enjoying ISS stay, despite minor issues – Falcon 9 investigation begins NASASpaceflight.com, October 19, 2012, retrieved October 21, 2012^
- The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2012 Federal Aviation Administration, February 2012, retrieved February 8, 2013^
- Broadcast 2212: Special Edition, interview with Gwynne Shotwell The Space Show, March 21, 2014, retrieved March 22, 2014^
- DragonLab datasheet SpaceX, September 8, 2009, retrieved October 19, 2010^
- Launch Manifest SpaceX, 2011, retrieved December 11, 2014^
- Launch Manifest SpaceX, December 11, 2014, retrieved December 11, 2014^
- Dragon Spacecraft Waco STEAM Center, retrieved 27 January 2026^
- Dragon C2, CRS-1,... CRS-20 (SpX 1,... 20) Gunter's Space Page, retrieved March 16, 2021^
- Dragon C1 Gunter's Space Page, retrieved March 16, 2021^
- SpaceX Launches Success with Falcon 9/Dragon Flight NASA, December 9, 2010, retrieved April 11, 2012^
- SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station Space.com, May 22, 2012, retrieved May 22, 2012^
- Same Dragon as displayed here in February 2015 from the C2+ or COTS Demo Flight 2 mission. December 14, 2016, retrieved April 6, 2018^
- Falcon 9 undergoes pad rehearsal for October launch Spaceflight Now, August 31, 2012, retrieved September 12, 2012^
- Falcon 9 Drops Orbcomm Satellite in Wrong Orbit Aviation Week, October 8, 2012, retrieved October 9, 2012^
- Worldwide Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now, September 7, 2012, retrieved September 12, 2012^
- Private Spacecraft to Launch Space Station Cargo on 7 October 2012 LiveScience, September 25, 2012, retrieved September 25, 2012^
- SpaceX capsule returns with safe landing in Pacific Ocean BBC, October 28, 2012, retrieved December 23, 2012^
- Dragon Spacecraft Glitch Was "Frightening", SpaceX Chief Elon Musk Says Space.com, March 1, 2013, retrieved March 2, 2013^
- Dragon Mission Report Spaceflight Now, retrieved November 15, 2012^
- NASA says SpaceX Dragon is safe to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday The Verge, March 2, 2013, retrieved March 2, 2013^
- SpaceX hits snag; Dragon capsule won't dock with space station on schedule WKMG, WKMG TV, March 1, 2013, retrieved March 1, 2013^
- SpaceX Dragon cargo ship splashes into Pacific Boston Globe, March 26, 2013, retrieved March 28, 2013^
- Range Realigns – SpaceX CRS-3 mission targets April 14 NASASpaceflight.com, April 4, 2014, retrieved April 4, 2014^
- CRS-3 Update new.livestream.com^
- [SpaceX] Launch of SpaceX's Dragon CRS-3 Spacecraft on Falcon 9v1.1 Rocket SpaceVids.tv, April 18, 2014, retrieved April 18, 2014^
- Spaceflight Now Tracking Station spaceflightnow.com, retrieved August 8, 2014^
- SpaceX Dragon Flying Mice in Space and More for NASA Space.com, September 18, 2014, retrieved October 18, 2014^
- Space X Dragon capsule returns to Earth – CRS-4 Mission ends with a splash! retrieved November 2, 2014^
- Launch of SpaceX's CRS-5 mission slips to 16 December 2014 Spaceflight Insider, November 22, 2014, retrieved November 22, 2014^
- Launch Schedule spaceflightnow.com, retrieved February 5, 2015^
- Chris Bergin. Saving Spaceship Dragon – Software to provide contingency chute deploy NASASpaceFlight.com, July 27, 2015, retrieved April 6, 2018^
- Ben Cooper. Launch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral retrieved February 6, 2016^
- Clark Lindsey. NASA and Bigelow release details of expandable module for ISS NewSpace Watch, January 16, 2013, retrieved January 24, 2013^
- Stephen Clark. Cargo-carrying Dragon spaceship returns to Earth – Spaceflight Now retrieved April 10, 2018^
- Dragon Splashdown SpaceX, May 11, 2016, retrieved May 19, 2016^
- Worldwide Launch Schedule SpaceflightNow, retrieved June 20, 2016^
- Mark Garcia. Dragon Launches to Station, Arrives Wednesday February 19, 2017, retrieved March 19, 2017^
- Tweet twitter.com, retrieved March 16, 2021^
- Stephen Clark. SpaceX's Dragon supply carrier wraps up 10th mission to space station Spaceflight Now, retrieved March 19, 2017^
- SpaceX's CRS-13 Dragon returns home January 13, 2018, retrieved January 14, 2018^
- Darrell Etherington. SpaceX's first re-flown Dragon capsule successfully returns to Earth Tech Crunch, July 3, 2017, retrieved July 3, 2017^
- William Graham. Flight proven Falcon 9 launches previously flown Dragon to ISS NASASpaceFlight.com, December 14, 2017, retrieved January 15, 2018^
- Eric Ralph. SpaceX continues water landing test in latest Space Station resupply mission April 2, 2018, retrieved April 6, 2018^
- Dragon Splashes Down in Pacific With NASA Research and Cargo – Space Station blogs.nasa.gov, May 5, 2018, retrieved May 6, 2018^
- Tweet twitter.com, retrieved March 16, 2021^
- Ben Cooper. Launch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral Launchphotography.com, April 2, 2018, retrieved April 4, 2018^
- Stephen Clark. SpaceX cargo capsule comes back to Earth from space station Spaceflight Now, August 3, 2018, retrieved August 30, 2018^
- SpaceX CRS-16 Dragon Resupply Mission SpaceX, December 2018, retrieved January 14, 2019^
- Sarah Lewin. SpaceX Launches Dragon Cargo Ship to Space Station, But Misses Rocket Landing Space.com, December 5, 2018, retrieved February 7, 2019^
- Chris Bergin. CRS-16 Dragon returns to Earth following ISS departure NASA SpaceflightNow, January 14, 2019, retrieved February 7, 2019^
- Eric Ralph. SpaceX gives infrared glimpse of Falcon 9 landing after successful Dragon launch Teslarati.com, May 4, 2019, retrieved May 4, 2019^
- Chris Bergin. CRS-17 Dragon returns home from ISS mission NASA SpaceflightNow, June 3, 2019, retrieved June 16, 2019^
- The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously visited the @space_station in April 2015 and December 2017 July 19, 2019^
- Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now, July 19, 2019, retrieved July 19, 2019^
- Press Release (June 26, 2024) Dragon C108 Put On Display At California Science Center.CaliforniaScienceCenter.org^
- The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew in support of our fourth and eleventh commercial resupply missions November 27, 2019^
- Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now, December 5, 2019, retrieved December 5, 2019^
- The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew in support of our tenth and sixteenth commercial resupply missions – this will be the third Dragon to fly on three missions March 1, 2020^
- Launch Schedule Spaceflight Now, retrieved January 11, 2020^
- Amy Svitak. Dragon's "Radiation-Tolerant" Design Aviation Week, November 18, 2012, retrieved August 15, 2020^
- Chris Bergin. NASA lines up four additional CRS missions for Dragon and Cygnus NASA SpaceFlight, March 3, 2015, retrieved February 24, 2016^
- Peter B. de Selding. SpaceX wins 5 new space station cargo missions in NASA contract estimated at US$700 million Space News, February 24, 2016, retrieved February 24, 2016^