The Crew Dragon spacecraft is a space capsule. In the picture it is approaching the ISS in 2019A mock-up in 2018, of a Crew Dragon (spacecraft), behind four astronauts. (A mock-up is a model, used for teaching.)
SpaceX Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft created by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX as the replacement to the Dragon 1 cargo spacecraft.
The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and returns to Earth via an ocean splashdown. The spacecraft can dock itself to the International Space Station (ISS) instead of being berthed.
It has two versions; Crew Dragon, a human-rated capsule capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon spacecraft.[1]
Crew Dragon is equipped with an integrated launch escape system in a set of four side thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each. The spacecraft features redesigned solar arrays.
The test showed that the space capsule can escape quickly (from the rocket) if the rocket has a problem while it is still on the ground. The test was at Cape Canaveral, Florida.[3]
In May 2023, the Ax-2 flight started. (Axiom Space has the contract for the flight.) The spacecraft got into orbit (on its way to ISS). The astronauts are
No earlier than July 2023,[35] the Polaris Dawn flight is supposed to start. The flight is supposed to be part of the three flights of the Polaris program; The two first flights are supposed to use Crew Dragons.
Cargo Dragon flights
During 6 December 2020 and 14 January 2021, the first flight of Cargo Dragon 2, to ISS happened. The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock module was taken to the ISS along with 6,400 lb (2,900 kg) of cargo. The successful mission (CRS-21) used space capsule C208.
3 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, had a flight to the ISS: CRS-22. The solar arrays iROSA 1 and iROSA 2, were taken there. The successful mission used space capsule C209.
29 August 2021 to 1 October 2021, was a flight to the ISS. The successful mission (CRS-23) used space capsule C208.[36]
21 December 2021 to 24 January 2022, was a flight to the ISS. The successful mission (CRS-24) used space capsule C209.[36]
15 July 2022 to 20 August 2022, the fifth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS: CRS-25. The successful mission used space capsule C208.
On November 26, 2022 the sixth Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS, started: CRS-26. It is docked to the ISS, as of 2022's fourth quarter.
Design
Crew Dragon has eight SuperDraco engines, with each engine able to produce 71 kN (16,000 lbf) of thrust to be used for launch aborts (or giving up a a launch - after it has already started).[37] Each pod also contains four Draco thrusters that can be used for attitude control and orbital maneuvers (or using engines while already in an orbit). The SuperDraco engine combustion chamber is printed of Inconel, an alloy of nickel and iron, using a process of direct metal laser sintering.
References
↑Audit of Commercial Resupply Services to the International Space Station. NASA. April 26, 2018. Report No. IG-18-016. Quote: "For SpaceX, certification of the company's unproven cargo version of its Dragon 2 spacecraft for CRS-2 missions carries risk while the company works to resolve ongoing concerns related to software traceability and systems engineering processes".
↑"Crew Dragon". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
↑"Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
↑"Kayla Barron". NASA. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
↑ 36.036.1Clark, Stephen (4 December 2021). "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2021. ((cite web)): |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 25 November 2021 suggested (help)