Earlier spacecraft had a berthing port and were berthed to ISS by ISS personnel. Crew Dragon was initially called 'DragonRider' and it was intended from the beginning to support a crew of seven or a combination of crew and cargo. There are two variants of Dragon 2: Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon. 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. It will be joined by Boeing Starliner in this role in 2024. Crew Dragons 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. human-rated orbital transport spacecraft, the orbital crewed spacecraft, and the only reusable orbital cargo spacecraft currently in operation.

Īs of July 2023, Crew Dragon is the only U.S. It shares this duty with Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems' Cygnus spacecraft, and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser spaceplane is expected to join them in 2023. The first flight of Dragon 2 in a cargo configuration launched in December 2020. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown.Ĭargo Dragon supplies cargo to the ISS under a Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, a spacecraft capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. SpaceX also launches private missions, such as Inspiration4 and Axiom Mission 1. SpaceX reusable launch system developmentĭragon 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).SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure.18 Draco thrusters for in-space maneuveringĢ,562 kg (5,648 lb) NTO / MMH propellant.8 SuperDraco thrusters as launch escape system (LES) (Crew Dragon only).

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