SpaceX Dragon 2

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

Dragon 2
Crew Dragon at the ISS for Demo Mission 1 (cropped).jpg
Crew Dragon approaching the ISS in March 2019, during Demo-1
ManufacturerSpaceX
Country of originUnited States
OperatorSpaceX
ApplicationsISS crew and cargo transport; private astronaut transport
Websitehttps://www.spacex.com/vehicles/dragon
Specifications
Payload capacity
  • 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) to orbit[3]
  • 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) return cargo[3]
  • 800 kg (1,800 lb) disposed cargo[4]
Crew capacity4 [a]
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 4 m (13 ft)[3]
  • Height: 8.1 m (27 ft) (with trunk)[3]
  • Sidewall angle: 15°
Volume
  • 9.3 m3 (330 cu ft) pressurized
  • 12.1 m3 (430 cu ft) unpressurized[3]
  • 37 m3 (1,300 cu ft) unpressurized with extended trunk
Design life
  • 10 days (free flight)[1]
  • 210 days (docked to ISS)[2][better source needed]
Production
StatusActive
Built6 (4 crew, 2 cargo)
1 under construction (cargo)
Launched5 times (+2 suborbital)
OperationalYes
Retired1 (prototype)
Lost1 (in testing)
Maiden launch2 March 2019 (uncrewed test)
30 May 2020 (crewed)
Related spacecraft
Derived fromSpaceX Dragon
Part of a series on
Private spaceflight
Active companies
Active vehicles
Contracts and programs
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Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). There are two variants: Crew Dragon, a spacecraft capable of ferrying up to seven[a] crew, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon 1. The spacecraft consists of a reuseable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and the capsule returns to Earth via splashdown. Four operational Dragon 2 spacecraft have been manufactured.

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 Innovation Systems' Cygnus spacecraft, and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spacecraft is expected to join them no earlier than June 2022.

As of 2021, Crew Dragon is the only U.S. human-rated orbital transport spacecraft, the only reusable crewed spacecraft and the only reusable cargo spacecraft currently in operation. Its 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. No earlier than June 2022 it will be joined by Boeing Starliner in this role. Crew Dragon is also used for non-docking orbital space tourism, and is expected to be used to shuttle tourists to and from Axiom Space's planned space station.

Development and variants[]

There are two variants of Dragon 2: Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon.[4] Crew Dragon was initially called "DragonRider"[6][7] and it was intended from the beginning to support a crew of seven or a combination of crew and cargo.[8][9] Unlike its predecessor, the spacecraft can autonomously dock to the ISS instead of being berthed. It is able to perform fully autonomous rendezvous and docking with manual override ability, using the NASA Docking System (NDS).[10][11] For typical missions, Crew Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for a period of 180 days, but is designed to remain on the station for up to 210 days, matching the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.[12][13][14][15][16][17] SpaceX is using the Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle to launch Dragon 2.[3]

Crew Dragon[]

Crew Dragon incorporates an integrated pusher launch escape system consisting of eight SuperDraco engines, capable of accelerating the vehicle away from the rocket in an emergency. SpaceX originally intended to land Crew Dragon on land using the SuperDraco engines, with parachutes and an ocean splashdown available 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.[18] Propulsive landing was later cancelled, leaving ocean splashdown under parachutes as the only option.[19] Paragon Space Development Corporation assisted in developing Crew Dragon's life-support system.[20]

In 2012, SpaceX was in talks with Orbital Outfitters about developing space suits to wear during launch and re-entry.[21] 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.[22][23] For the Demo-1 mission, a test dummy nicknamed Ripley 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.[24][25][26] 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.[27][28][29]

SpaceX's CCtCap contract values each seat on a Crew Dragon flight to be between US$60–67 million,[30] while the face value of each seat has been estimated by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to be around US$55 million.[31][32][33] This contrasts with the 2014 Soyuz launch price of US$76 million per seat for NASA astronauts.[34]

In case of private astronauts riding on Crew Dragon, SpaceX gives them Crew Dragon Astronaut Wings.[35]

Cargo Dragon[]

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 the NASA flights.[36] SpaceX won a contract award for Cargo Dragon as a result of the CRS-22 bid competition, with contracts awarded in January 2016 for six flights.[37]

Cargo Dragons are different from the crewed variant by launching without seats, cockpit controls, astronaut life support systems, or SuperDraco abort engines.[38][39] Cargo Dragon improves on many aspects of the original Dragon design, including the recovery and refurbishment process.[40] SpaceX plans to fly each Cargo Dragon capsule up to five times.

Design[]

Crew Dragon Launch Configuration
Crew Dragon C204 in the LC-39A Horizontal Integration Facility in December 2018 preparing for the launch of DM-1

Dragon 2 includes the following features:[24][25][41]

Dragon 2 is partially reusable, potentially resulting in a significant cost reduction. After earlier plans of SpaceX to use new capsules for every crewed flight for NASA[42] both agreed to reuse Crew Dragon capsules for NASA flights.[43][44] Cargo Dragon can carry 3,307 kg (7,291 lb) to the ISS; Crew Dragon has a capacity of seven astronauts (only four seats are used for NASA missions). Above the seats, there is a three-screen control panel, a toilet (with privacy curtain), and the docking hatch. Ocean landings are accomplished with four main parachutes in both variants. The parachute system was fully redesigned from the one used in the prior Dragon capsule, due to the need to deploy the parachutes under a variety of launch abort scenarios.[45]

Crew Dragon has eight side-mounted SuperDraco engines, clustered in redundant pairs in four engine pods, with each engine able to produce 71 kN (16,000 lbf) of thrust to be used for launch aborts.[24] Each pod also contains four Draco thrusters that can be used for attitude control and orbital maneuvers. The SuperDraco engine combustion chamber is printed of Inconel, an alloy of nickel and iron, using a process of direct metal laser sintering. Engines are contained in a protective nacelle to prevent fault propagation if an engine fails.

Once in orbit, Dragon 2 is able to autonomously dock to the ISS. Dragon 1 was berthed using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, requiring substantially more involvement from ISS crew. Pilots of Crew Dragon retain the ability to dock the spacecraft using manual controls interfaced with a static tablet-like computer. 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". Also, the spacecraft will be able to return safely if a leak occurs "of up to an equivalent orifice of 6.35 mm [0.25 in] in diameter".[18]

Propellant and helium pressurant for both launch aborts and on-orbit maneuvering is contained in composite-carbon-overwrap titanium spherical tanks. A PICA-X heat shield protects the capsule during reentry, while a movable ballast sled allows more precise attitude control of the spacecraft during the atmospheric entry phase of the return to Earth and more accurate control of the landing ellipse location.[18] A reusable nose cone "protects the vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent and reentry",[18] pivoting on a hinge to enable in-space docking and returning to the covered position for reentry and future launches.[26]

The trunk is the third structural element of the spacecraft, containing solar panels, heat-removal radiators, and fins to provide aerodynamic stability during emergency aborts.[18]

The previous Cargo Dragon's deployable solar arrays have been eliminated and are now built into the trunk itself. This increases volume space, reduces the number of mechanisms on the vehicle and further increases reliability.

Announced on 29 August 2021 during the CRS-23 launch is a new feature called Extenda-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 Extenda-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 Extenda-Lab payloads launching with the mission, and once docked, a 4th which is currently already on the space station will be added to dragon".[46]

For missions not involving docking to ISS or any other spacecraft and those involving space tourism, the capsule docking adapter, which is normally used to dock with the International Space Station, can be replaced by a domed plexiglass window allowing 360° views out of the spacecraft, providing views of space and the Earth like the Cupola Module on the ISS to provide interest and make up space left after removal of the docking adapter during flight.[47] The dome's first use was on the Inspiration4 flight.

Crewed flights[]

The Crew Dragon mockup (background) and four of the astronauts of its first two crewed missions (foreground), from left to right: Douglas Hurley, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins, and Victor Glover

Dragon is intended to fulfill a set of requirements that will make the capsule useful to both commercial and government customers. SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace were working together to support round-trip transport of commercial passengers to low Earth orbit (LEO) destinations, but the plan was canceled. Instead Axiom plans to launch tourists to the Space Station and eventually their own private space station. NASA flights to the ISS will only have four astronauts, with the added payload mass and volume used to carry pressurized cargo.[45]

On 16 September 2014, NASA announced that SpaceX and Boeing had been selected to provide crew transportation to the ISS. SpaceX will receive US$2.6 billion under this contract.[48] Dragon was the less expensive proposal,[28] but NASA's William H. Gerstenmaier considered the CST-100 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 the CST-100 suffered several problems and delays, with its first operational flight slipped to no earlier than March 2023.

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.[49]

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 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.[50]

The first automated test mission launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 March 2019.[51] After schedule slips,[52] the first crewed flight launched on 30 May 2020[53] with the launch of the Demo-2 mission.

In June 2019, Bigelow Space Operations announced it had reserved with SpaceX up to four missions of four passengers each to ISS as early as 2020 and planned to sell them for around US$52 million per seat.[54] These plans were canceled by September 2019.

On 18 February 2020, building on development for NASA's commercial crew program, Space Adventures announced an agreement with SpaceX to fly up to four paying space tourists on a standalone mission aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft in late 2021 or 2022 that could reach an altitude two-to-three times higher than the International Space Station.[55] However, by October 2021 the contract had expired, but the company left open the possibility of a future mission.[56]

Testing[]

Dragon 2 hover test (24159153709)
Pad abort test of a Dragon 2 article on 6 May 2015 at CCAFS, SLC-40

SpaceX planned a series of four flight tests for the Crew Dragon: a "pad abort" test, an uncrewed orbital flight to the ISS, an in-flight abort test, and finally a 14-day crewed demonstration mission to the ISS,[57] which was initially planned for July 2019,[52] but after a Dragon capsule explosion, was delayed to May 2020.[58]

Pad abort and hover tests[]

Main article: Dragon 2 Pad Abort Test
Launch of Demo-1, Crew Dragon's maiden spaceflight

The pad abort test was conducted successfully on 6 May 2015 at SpaceX's leased SLC-40.[45] Dragon landed safely in the ocean to the east of the launchpad 99 seconds after ignition of the SuperDraco engines.[59] 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.[49][60] 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.[61][62][63]

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.[64] The test vehicle was the same capsule that performed the pad abort test earlier in 2015; it was nicknamed DragonFly.[65]

Demo-1: Orbital flight test[]

Main article: Crew Dragon Demo-1

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.[66] 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.[49][67] On 3 August 2018, NASA announced the crew for the DM-2 mission.[68] 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, the STS-135 mission.

The first orbital test of Crew Dragon was an uncrewed mission, officially designated "Crew Demo-1" and launched on 2 March 2019.[69][70] The spacecraft tested the approach and automated docking procedures with the ISS,[71] remained docked until 8 March 2019, then conducted the full re-entry, splashdown and recovery steps to qualify for a crewed mission.[72][73] Life-support systems were monitored all along 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.[69][74]

Explosion during testing[]

Liftoff of Crew Dragon in-flight abort test

On 20 April 2019, the Crew Dragon capsule used in the Demo-1 mission was destroyed in an explosion during static fire testing at the Landing Zone 1 facility.[75][76] 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.[77]

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.[77][78]

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.[79]

The SuperDraco engine test that failed on 20 April 2019 was repeated successfully on 13 November 2019. The full duration static fire test of Crew Dragon's launch escape system took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 at 20:08 UTC. The test was successful, showing that the modifications made to the vehicle to prevent a failure like the one that happened 20 April 2019 were successful. The vehicle used for this ground test would also be used for the following in-flight abort test.[80]

Some of the modifications are:

  • Replacement of the valves with burst discs: Unlike valves, burst discs are designed for single use.
  • Addition of flaps on each SuperDraco in order to reseal the thrusters prior to splashdown in the ocean, preventing water intrusion.[81]

In-flight abort test[]

Main article: Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test
SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour as it approached the International Space Station
Endeavour capsule being recovered after splashdown

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. Ten seconds after Dragon 2 was jettisoned, the Falcon 9 exploded due to the then exposed un-aerodynamic front and was destroyed. The spacecraft 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.[82] 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.[45] 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.[83]

Earlier, this test had been scheduled before the uncrewed orbital test,[84] however, SpaceX and NASA considered it safer to use a flight representative capsule rather than the test article from the pad abort test.[85]

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.[86] Capsule C205, originally planned for Demo-2 was used for the In-Flight Abort Test[87] 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.[88]

Demo-2: crewed orbital flight test[]

Main article: Crew Dragon Demo-2

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.[89] 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.[90] The second launch attempt was successful, with capsule C206, later named Endeavour by the crew, launching on 30 May 2020 19:22 UTC.[91][92] The capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on 31 May 2020 at 14:27 UTC.[93] 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".[94]

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".[95]

List of vehicles[]

Dragon 2 vehicles[96][97][98]
Serial Name Type Status Flights Flight time Notes Cat.
C201 DragonFly Prototype Retired 1 100 seconds Prototype used for pad abort test at Cape Canaveral and tethered hover tests at the McGregor Test Facility. Commons-logo.svg
C202 Qual Module Prototype Retired N/A N/A Pressure vessel qualification module used for structural testing.
C203 ECLSS Module Prototype Grounded N/A N/A Environmental Control & Life Support System module. Still used for human-in-the-loop testing.
C204 None Crew Destroyed 1 6d, 5h, 56m First Dragon 2 to fly in space. Only flight was Crew Demo-1; destroyed during ground testing of the abort thrusters weeks after the flight. Commons-logo.svg
C205 None Crew Retired[99] 1 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. Commons-logo.svg
C206 Endeavour Crew Active 2 263d, 16h, 25m First vehicle to carry crew; named after Space Shuttle Endeavour. First flown during Crew Demo-2[100] with another flight for Crew-2.[44] Commons-logo.svg
C207 Resilience Crew Active 2 170d, 5h, 32m First full-production Crew Dragon used for Crew-1.[101] Also flew the Inspiration4 mission, featuring a large cupola window in place of the docking adapter.[102] Commons-logo.svg
C208 N/A Cargo Active 2 69d, 7h, 51m[103] First Cargo Dragon 2, for SpaceX CRS-21 and SpaceX CRS-23. Splashed down.[104] Commons-logo.svg
C209 N/A Cargo Active 2 70d, 21h, 56m Second Cargo Dragon 2, for SpaceX CRS-22 and SpaceX CRS-24. Commons-logo.svg
C210 [105] Endurance Crew Active 1 TBD First used in the SpaceX Crew-3 mission launched in November 2021.[106] Commons-logo.svg
C211 Freedom Crew Under construction 0 TBD To be used in the SpaceX Crew-4 mission planned for April 2022.[107]
C2XX TBA Cargo Under construction 0 TBD To be used in a cargo mission in 2022 [107]

List of flights[]

List includes only completed or currently manifested missions. Launch dates are listed in UTC.

Crew Dragon flights[]

Mission Patch Capsule[98] Launch date Landing date Description Crew Outcome
Test flights
Pad Abort Test Pad Abort Test Patch C201 DragonFly 6 May 2015 6 May 2015 Pad Abort Test, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.[108] N/A Success
Demo-1 Demo-1 Patch C204 2 March 2019[69] 8 March 2019 Uncrewed test flight of the Crew Dragon capsule; docked 3 March 2019, 08:50 UTC; departed 8 March 2019, 05:32 UTC. N/A Success
In-Flight Abort Test In-Flight Abort Test Patch C205.1 19 January 2020[109] 19 January 2020 Used the capsule originally planned for Demo-2.[110] N/A Success
Demo-2 Crew Dragon Demo-2 Patch.png C206.1 Endeavour 30 May 2020[111][112] 2 August 2020 First crewed flight test of Dragon capsule. 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
Operational flights
Crew-1 SpaceX Crew-1 logo.svg C207.1 Resilience 16 November 2020[113][114] 2 May 2021[101] 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.[115] Broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, previously held by the Skylab 4 mission.[116]
Success
Crew-2 SpaceX Crew-2 logo.png C206.2 ♺ Endeavour[44] 23 April 2021[117] 9 November 2021 [118] Second operational Commercial Crew flight, transerring crew to the ISS for a six-month mission. NASA agreed to allow SpaceX to reuse a booster and capsule for the first time on this flight. Crew includes the first ESA astronaut to fly on Crew Dragon, mission specialist Thomas Pesquet. 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.[119]
Success
Inspiration4 Inspiration4 Patch 1 and Patch 2 C207.2 ♺ Resilience[122] 16 September 2021 [123] 18 September 2021 [124] The first all-civilian mission to orbit. The flight reached a 585 km orbit and the crew conducted science and medical experiments and public outreach activities for 3 days.[125] First standalone orbital Crew Dragon flight, and the first flight with the cupola.
[126] 		Success
Crew-3 SpaceX Crew-3 logo.svg C210.1 Endurance 11 November 2021[127] NET 29 April 2022 Third operational Commercial Crew flight, transporting four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission.
Docked at ISS
Axiom-1 Axiom-1 Patch C206.3 ♺ Endeavour 31 March 2022[129] 10 April 2022 First Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. First fully private flight to the ISS, carrying Michael López-Alegría as Axiom professional astronaut,[130] Eytan Stibbe to conduct educational experiments for a 10-day trip,[131][132] Larry Connor and Mark Pathy, both heading investment companies.[133]
Planned
Crew-4 SpaceX Crew 4 logo.png C211.1 Freedom 15 April 2022[135] Q4 2022 The fourth flight contracted under CCP contract.[136] United States Kjell Lindgren
United States Bob Hines[137][138][139]
Italy Samantha Cristoforetti[140][141]
United States Jessica Watkins[142] 		Planned
Crew-5 SpaceX Crew-5 logo no names.png TBA NET 25 October 2022 [143] NET 2023 The fifth flight contracted under CCP contract.[136] The fourth astronaut is Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, flying on this mission as a part of Dragon-Soyuz swap flights that ensures both countries would have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems, if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.[144] United States Nicole Aunapu Mann
United States Josh Cassada
Japan Koichi Wakata
Russia Anna Kikina 		Planned
Polaris Dawn Polaris Dawn Patch TBA NET Q4 2022 TBD First of planned three flights of Polaris Program by Jared Isaacman. First private flight to include spacewalk outside International Space Station. Aimed to fly "farther than any other human spaceflight in 50 years".[145][146]
Planned
Axiom-2 TBA NET Q1 2023[147] NET Q1 2023 Second Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. Second fully private flight to the ISS, carrying Peggy Whitson as Axiom professional astronaut.[148]
Planned
Crew-6 TBA March 2023[149] NET 2023 The sixth flight contracted under CCP contract.[136] United States Stephen Bowen
United States Warren Hoburg
Japan/Canada/Europe TBA
Russia TBA 		Planned
Axiom-3 TBA NET 2023[150] NET 2023 Third Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA 		Planned
Axiom-4 TBA NET 2023[150] NET 2023 Fourth Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA 		Planned
Crew-7 TBA NET early 2023 TBA In late 2021 NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[151] United States Jasmin Moghbeli[152]
Denmark Andreas Mogensen[153]
Canada Jeremy Hansen[154]
Russia TBA 		Planned
Crew-8 TBA TBA TBA In late 2021 NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[151] United States TBA
United States TBA
Europe/Japan/Canada TBA
Russia TBA 		Planned
Crew-9 TBA TBA TBA In late 2021 NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[151] United States TBA
United States TBA
Europe/Japan/Canada TBA
Russia TBA 		Planned
Unannounced Second Polaris Program Flight Polaris program logo grey.png TBA TBD TBD Second of planned three flights of Polaris Program. Last flight of the Polaris Program using Crew Dragon before planning to use Starship for the next flight.[146]
  • TBA
  • TBA
  • TBA
  • TBA
 Planned

Cargo Dragon 2 flights[]

Mission Patch Capsule[98] Launch date Landing date Description Outcome
CRS-21 SpaceX CRS-21 Patch.png C208.1 6 December 2020 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 SpaceX CRS-22 Patch.png C209.1 3 June 2021 10 July 2021 Second Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS; has delivered solar arrays iROSA 1 and iROSA 2 Success
CRS-23 SpaceX CRS-23 Patch.png C208.2 ♺ 29 August 2021, 07:14 UTC 1 October 2021 Third Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS Success
CRS-24 SpaceX CRS-24 Patch.png C209.2 ♺ 21 December 2021, 10:07 UTC 24 January 2022 Fourth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS Success
CRS-25 SpaceX CRS-25 Patch.png C208.3 ♺ May 2022 (planned)[155] Fifth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS;[156] will deliver iROSA 3 and iROSA 4 Planned
CRS-26 TBA October 2022 (planned)[155] Sixth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS; will deliver iROSA 5 and iROSA 6 Planned
CRS-27 TBA 10 January 2023 (planned)[143] Seventh Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS Planned
CRS-28 TBA 5 June 2023 (planned)[143] Eighth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS Planned
CRS-29 TBA 20 October 2023 (planned)[143] Ninth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS Planned

Cancelled flights[]

Space Adventures contracted SpaceX for a five-day, high elliptic orbit space tourism mission with a Crew Dragon in 2022,[157][158] which planned to send four tourists to an altitude over twice the height of the ISS, and higher than the current altitude record for an orbital crewed spacecraft, set by the Gemini 11 mission in 1966.[159] 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.[56]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b SpaceX states the crew is "up to seven",[3] but the CEO said that a redesign reduced it to four.[5]
  2. ^ 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.[120]
  3. ^ The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-2 is called Mission Alpha, which is headed by Thomas Pesquet shown by the logo,
  4. ^ The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-3 is called Mission Cosmic Kiss, which is headed by Matthias Maurer shown by the logo

References[]

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