Sierra Space is a privately held aerospace and space technologies company. It is part of the private spaceflight industry. Sierra Space develops spaceflight hardware and is currently working on the Dream Chaser spaceplane. It is also collaborating with Blue Origin on the development of the Orbital Reef space station. Sierra Space operates facilities in multiple states across the United States, including Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. Source: Sierra Space Wikipedia
This document provides information about the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft, including its flight tests and missions. It highlights the In-Flight Abort Test, the Demo-2 crewed orbital flight test, and the Dragon thruster pods anomaly. The document also includes lists of Dragon 2 vehicles and flights, as well as external links for further information.
United States
Sierra Space was founded by Fatih Ozmen and Eren Ozmen. They established Sierra Space as an independent commercial space company in April 2021. Sierra Space is a spin-off from Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace development company founded in 1963.
Sierra Space Corporation is a privately held aerospace and space technologies company. The company is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, and operates facilities in Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. Sierra Space develops spaceflight hardware and is currently working on the Dream Chaser spaceplane. The company has been selected by NASA for the Commercial Resupply Service 2 contract to provide services to the International Space Station. Sierra Space is also collaborating with Blue Origin on the development of the Orbital Reef space station. ## History Sierra Space is a spin-off from Sierra Nevada Corporation and was established as an independent commercial space company in April 2021. Its parent company, the Sierra Nevada Corporation, has been in the aerospace development industry since 1963. Sierra Space operates facilities in multiple states, including Colorado, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and Alabama. In October 2022, Sierra Space and Blue Origin announced a partnership to jointly develop the Orbital Reef, which will be a commercially owned and operated space station. The companies received a $130 million contract for its development, and it is expected to be operational by 2027. Sierra Space has also announced partnerships with ILC Dover for the development of inflatable space station modules and spacesuits, as well as collaborations with BioServe Space Technologies and Redwire on biotech experiments in microgravity. ## Products Sierra Space offers a range of products and services in transportation, destinations, and applications. The transportation division includes the Dream Chaser vehicle, which is planned for cargo flights under NASA's Commercial Resupply Contract. The destinations division includes the Orbital Reef space station and the LIFE habitat. The applications division focuses on rocket engines and propulsion, space technology and subsystems, and environmental systems. For more information, you can visit the Sierra Space official website.
Part of
on
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Active companies
- Arianespace
- Astra
- Axiom Space
- Bigelow Aerospace
- Blue Origin
- Equatorial Space Systems
- Firefly Aerospace
- Galactic Energy
- i-Space
- Northrop Grumman
- Redwire
- Relativity Space
- Rocket Lab
- Scaled Composites
- SpaceX
- The Spaceship Company
- United Launch Alliance
- Virgin Galactic
Active vehicles
- Antares
- Ceres-1
- Cygnus
- Dragon 2
- Electron
- Falcon 9
- Falcon Heavy
- Hyperbola-1
- New Shepard
- Pegasus
- SpaceShipTwo
- Vega
Contracts and programs
- Ansari X Prize
- Commercial Crew Development
- Commercial Resupply Services
- Google Lunar X Prize
- SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure
- SpaceX reusable launch system development
Related
Sierra Space Corporation, commonly referred to as Sierra Space, is a privately held aerospace and space technologies company headquartered in Louisville, Colorado[3] with additional facilities in Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina and a testing site at the Marshal Space Flight Center in Alabama.[4][5] The company makes spaceflight hardware for various applications across the industry. It is currently developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane.[6] The spaceplane was selected by NASA to provide services to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service 2 contract.[7][8] The company is also in collaboration with Blue Origin to develop components of the Orbital Reef space station.[9]
History[edit]
Sierra Space is a spin-off from Sierra Nevada Corporation that was established as an independent commercial space company in April 2021.[10] Its parent company, the Sierra Nevada Corporation, was a long established aerospace development company which was founded in 1963. Sierra Space operates facilities in 6 states including Colorado, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and Alabama.[5]
In October 2022, Blue Origin and Sierra Space partnered to jointly develop the world’s first commercially owned and operated space station, Orbital Reef. Orbital Reef will be a “mixed-use business park in space in low Earth orbit (LEO) for commerce, research, and tourism by the end of this decade."[11] Sierra Space and Blue Origin received a $130 million contract to develop the Orbital Reef space station. It is expected to be operational by 2027. Sierra Space expects to announce its first astronaut trainees in 2023.[12]
In April 2023, Sierra Space and ILC Dover announced their partnership for developing of inflatable space station modules and spacesuits. ILC Dover will be the exclusive partner in providing soft goods for Sierra Space’s Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules for commercial space stations.[13][14]
Sierra Space and the United States Air Force announced a partnership in July 2023. Under a 27-month, $22.6 million contract, Sierra Space will develop a 35,000 lbf thrust upper stage engine, known as the Vortex (VR35K-A). Work for the Vortex involves designing flight-weight engine components through the use of component and integrated breadboard engine test data.[15]
In August 2023, Sierra Space announced that it would be collaborating with BioServe Space Technologies to grow hematopoietic stem cells in microgravity to research undergoing treatment for blood cancer.[16][17] The same month, the company also partnered with Redwire on a biotech experiment platform that will be installed on Sierra Space's commercial space station LIFE module.[18]
Reports in November 2023 indicated that Sierra Space laid off 165 workers in a realignment of the company.[19]
Products[edit]
Sierra Space provides a mix of products and services in three areas: transportation, destinations, and applications.[20]
Transportation[edit]
Initial cargo flights of the Dream Chaser vehicle are planned under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Contract with follow-on cargo, crewed and other missions available for commercial, civil, and national security uses.
On September 8, 2022, Sierra Space announced it signed a CRADA with the United States Transportation Command to develop concepts for using Dream Chaser space planes and Shooting Star cargo modules for “timely global delivery of Department of Defense logistics and personnel."[21][22]
The first Dream Chaser, DC-101 Tenacity, completed assembly in November 2023. The vehicle will be shipped to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility for environmental testing.[23][24]
Destinations[edit]
Prototype of LIFE habitat inside the Space Station Processing Facility (2021)
Products from Sierra Space’s Destinations organization include the Orbital Reef space station (in partnership with Blue Origin)[25] and the LIFE habitat.[26]
Through NASA’s NextSTEP project, Sierra Space completed its successful test in July 2022, which a maximum burst pressure rate of 192 psi. It then completed its second sub-scale ultimate burst pressure test on November 15, 2022 that achieved a 204 psi burst pressure rate. The safety requirement is 182.4 psi.[26] The full-scale LIFE pressure tests began in 2023, and on January 22, 2024 the company announced a successful full scale burst test of the LIFE habitat, exceeding safety margins by 27%.[27]
Applications[edit]
Applications products include three areas:
Satellite Bus Line[edit]
In early 2024, Sierra announced their own satellite bus line named Velocity, Horizon, and Titan.[30]
External links[edit]
[edit]
This article is about the SpaceX spacecraft. For other uses, see Dragon II.
Part of
on
Active companies
- Arianespace
- Astra
- Axiom Space
- Bigelow Aerospace
- Blue Origin
- Equatorial Space Systems
- Firefly Aerospace
- Galactic Energy
- i-Space
- Northrop Grumman
- Redwire
- Relativity Space
- Rocket Lab
- Scaled Composites
- SpaceX
- The Spaceship Company
- United Launch Alliance
- Virgin Galactic
Active vehicles
- Antares
- Ceres-1
- Cygnus
- Dragon 2
- Electron
- Falcon 9
- Falcon Heavy
- Hyperbola-1
- New Shepard
- Pegasus
- SpaceShipTwo
- Vega
Contracts and programs
- Ansari X Prize
- Commercial Crew Development
- Commercial Resupply Services
- Google Lunar X Prize
- SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure
- SpaceX reusable launch system development
Related
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.[8]
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.[9] 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"[10][11] and it was intended from the beginning to support a crew of seven or a combination of crew and cargo.[12][13] 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.[14][15] 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.[16][17][18][19][20][21] 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.[22] Propulsive landing was later cancelled, leaving ocean splashdown under parachutes as the only option.[23]
In 2012, SpaceX was in talks with Orbital Outfitters about developing space suits to wear during launch and re-entry.[24] 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.[25][26] 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.[27][28][29] 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.[30][31][32] 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".[33] SpaceX later decided to build a fifth Crew Dragon capsule, to be available by 2024.[34] 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,[35] while the face value of each seat has been estimated by NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to be around US$55 million.[36][37][38] This contrasts with the 2014 Soyuz launch price of US$76 million per seat for NASA astronauts.[39]
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.[40] 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 6 more planned.
Cargo Dragons are different from the crewed variant by launching without seats, cockpit controls, astronaut life support systems, and SuperDraco abort engines.[41][42] Cargo Dragon improves on many aspects of the original Dragon design, including the recovery and refurbishment process.[43]
The ISS Deorbit Vehicle is a planned, specially modified Cargo Dragon that will be used to de-orbit 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.[44] 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 18) 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.[45] 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.[46][47]
Design
[edit]
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:[27][28][48]
A Dragon 2 spacecraft consists of a capsule and a trunk. While a new trunk is expended on each mission, the capsule is reusable. After earlier plans of SpaceX to use new capsules for every crewed flight for NASA[49] both agreed to reuse Crew Dragon capsules for NASA flights.[50][51] In 2022, SpaceX stated that a capsule can be reused up to fifteen times.[34] Cargo Dragon can carry 3,307 kg (7,291 lb) to the ISS. Crew Dragon has a capacity of four astronauts.[d] 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.[53]
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.[27] 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".[22]
Crew Dragon Freedom with its four Mk3 [54] main parachutes deployed
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. A reusable nose cone "protects the vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent and reentry",[22] pivoting on a hinge to enable in-space docking and returning to the covered position for reentry and future launches.[29]
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. As previously, the parachute compartments are located on the front of the capsule. Plans to land the capsule propulsively, using the engines used for launch escape, were abandoned in 2017. SpaceX was required by NASA to add an additional main parachute by default as a safety measure, after a Dragon 1 suffered a parachute malfunction. The company also improved on the design of the parachutes used on Dragon 1, developing new parachutes twice before being certified to fly with crew.[54]
Crew Dragon Resilience, with the solar panels integrated in its trunk
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.[22]
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 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".[55][56]
For Crew Dragon missions not involving docking, the capsule docking adapter which is normally used to dock with the ISS can be replaced by a domed plexiglass window. This provides panoramic 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.[57] The dome's first use was on the Inspiration4 flight.
Crewed flights
[edit]
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 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.[53]
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.[58] Dragon was the less expensive proposal,[31] 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.[59]
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.[60]
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.[61]
The first automated test mission launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 March 2019.[62] After schedule slips,[63] the first crewed flight launched on 30 May 2020[64] 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.[65] 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.[66][67] 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.[68]
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,[69] which was initially planned for July 2019,[63] but after a Dragon capsule explosion, was delayed to May 2020.[70]
Pad abort test
[edit]
Main article: Dragon 2 Pad Abort Test
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.[53] Dragon landed safely in the ocean to the east of the launchpad 99 seconds after ignition of the SuperDraco engines.[71] 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.[60][72] 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.[73][74][75]
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.[76] The test vehicle was the same capsule that performed the pad abort test earlier in 2015; it was nicknamed DragonFly.[77]
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.[78] 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.[60][79] On 3 August 2018, NASA announced the crew for the DM-2 mission.[80] 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.[81]
The first orbital test of Crew Dragon was an un-crewed mission, commonly called "Demo-1" and launched on 2 March 2019.[82][83] The spacecraft tested the approach and automated docking procedures with the ISS,[84] remained docked until 8 March 2019, then conducted the full re-entry, splashdown and recovery steps to qualify for a crewed mission.[85][86] 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.[82][87]
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.[88][89] 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.[90]
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.[90][91]
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.[92] 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.[93]
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.[94]
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.[95] 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.[53] 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.[96]
Earlier, this test had been scheduled before the uncrewed orbital test,[97] however, SpaceX and NASA considered it safer to use a flight representative capsule rather than the test article from the pad abort test.[98]
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.[99] Capsule C205, originally planned for Demo-2 was used for the In-Flight Abort Test[100] 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.[101]
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.[102] 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.[103] The second launch attempt was successful, with capsule C206, later named Endeavour by the crew, launching on 30 May 2020 19:22 UTC.[104][105] The capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on 31 May 2020 at 14:27 UTC.[106][107][108] 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".[109]
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".[110]
List of vehicles
[edit]
Dragon 2 vehicles
| S/N | Name | Type | Status | Flights | Flight time | Total flight time | Notes | Cat. | Files |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DragonFly | Prototype | Retired | 99 s (Pad Abort Test) | 99 s | 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 | Pressure vessel qualification module used for structural testing. | |||
C203 | None | Prototype | In use | N/A | N/A | Environmental control and life support system testing module, still in use for human-in-the-loop testing. | |||
None | Crew | Destroyed | 6 d, 5 h, 56 m (Demo-1) | 6 d, 5 h, 56 m | 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. | ||||
None | Crew | Retired | 8 m, 54 s (In-Flight Abort Test) | 8 m, 54 s | 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. | ||||
Crew | Active(docked to ISS) | • 63 d, 23 h, 25 m (Demo-2) • 199 d, 17 h, 44 m (Crew-2) • 17 d, 1 h, 49 m (Axiom-1) • 185 d, 22 h, 43 m (Crew-6) • 140 d, 3 h, 5 m (Crew-8, in progress) | 606 d, 19 h, 48 m (mission in progress) | First vehicle to carry crew; named after Space Shuttle Endeavour. First flown during Crew Demo-2.[114] Has since flown Crew-2[51] Axiom-1, and Crew-6. Currently in flight on Crew-8 and docked to the ISS.[115] | |||||
Crew | Active | • 167 d, 6 h, 29 m (Crew-1) • 2 d, 23 h, 3 m (Inspiration4) | 170d, 5h, 32m | First flew on Crew-1 on 16 November 2020.[116] Used for Inspiration4, featuring the largest window ever flown in space in place of the docking adapter.[117] Scheduled to fly Polaris Dawn. | |||||
None | Cargo | Active | • 38 d, 9 h, 8 m (CRS-21) • 32 d, 19 h, 42 m (CRS-23) • 36 d, 18 h, 8 m (CRS-25) • 24 d, 22 h, 43 m (CRS-28) | 132d, 21h, 41m | First Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-21, CRS-23, CRS-25 and CRS-28 missions.[118] | ||||
None | Cargo | Active | • 36 d, 9 h, 59 m (CRS-22) • 34 d, 10 h, 57 m (CRS-24) • 31 d, 20 h, 28 m (CRS-27) • 24 d, 22 h, 43 m (CRS-30) | 142d, 2h, 7m | Second Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27 and CRS-30 missions. | ||||
Crew | Active | • 176 d, 2 h, 39 m (Crew-3) • 157 d, 10 h, 1 m (Crew-5) • 199 d, 2 h, 20 m (Crew-7) | 532d, 15h | First flew on Crew-3 on 11 November 2021.[119] Has since flown Crew-5 and Crew-7. Scheduled to fly Crew-9. | |||||
None | Cargo | Active | 88d, 7h, 4m | Third Cargo Dragon 2, which flew the CRS-26 and CRS-29 missions.[120][121] | |||||
Crew | Active | • 170 d, 13 h, 2 m (Crew-4) • 9 d, 5 h, 27 m (Axiom-2) • 21 d, 15 h, 41 m (Axiom-3) | 201d, 10h, 11m | First flew on Crew-4 on 24 April 2022.[120] Has since flown Axiom-2 and Axiom-3. | |||||
C213 | TBA | Crew | Under construction[34] | None | None | Final Crew Dragon to be built. Construction is planned to finish in 2024. |
List of flights
[edit]
List includes only completed or currently manifested missions. Launch dates are listed in UTC.
Crew Dragon flights
[edit]
NET means 'no earlier than'. All dates are with respect to the launch point time zone, US Eastern Time Zone.
| Mission and Patch | Capsule[113] | Launch date | Landing date | Remarks | Crew | Outcome | Files |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 May 2015 | 6 May 2015 | — | Success | ||||
2 March 2019[82] | 8 March 2019 | Uncrewed orbital test flight | — | Success | |||
19 January 2020[122] | 19 January 2020 | — | Success | ||||
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 |   | ||||
2 May 2021[116] | 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.[127] Broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, previously held by the Skylab 4 mission.[128] | • Michael Hopkins • Victor Glover • Soichi Noguchi • Shannon Walker | Success |   | |||
23 April 2021[129] | 9 November 2021[130] | 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.[131] | • R. Shane Kimbrough • K. Megan McArthur[e] • Akihiko Hoshide • Thomas Pesquet[f] | Success |   | ||
Inspiration4 (patch 1 and 2) | 16 September 2021[134] | 18 September 2021[135] | 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.[136] First standalone orbital Crew Dragon flight, and the first flight with the cupola. | • Jared Isaacman • Sian Proctor • Hayley Arceneaux • Christopher Sembroski | Success | ||
11 November 2021[137] | 6 May 2022[138] | • Raja Chari • Thomas Marshburn • Matthias Maurer[g] • Kayla Barron[133][139] | Success |   | |||
8 April 2022[140] | 25 April 2022 | First Crew Dragon flight contracted by Axiom Space. First fully private flight to the ISS. | • / Michael López-Alegría[141] • Larry Connor • Eytan Stibbe[142] • Mark Pathy[143] | Success |   .svg/public) | ||
27 April 2022[144] | 14 October 2022[145] | • Kjell Lindgren • Bob Hines[146][147][148] • Samantha Cristoforetti[149][150] • Jessica Watkins[151] | Success |   | |||
5 October 2022[152] | 12 March 2023[153] | 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.[154] | • Nicole Aunapu Mann • Josh Cassada • Koichi Wakata • Anna Kikina[155][156][157] | Success |   | ||
2 March 2023 | 4 September 2023 | • Stephen Bowen • Warren Hoburg • Sultan Al Neyadi • Andrey Fedyaev | Success |   | |||
21 May 2023[158] | 31 May 2023 | Fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom partnered with the Saudi Space Commission to send two Saudi astronauts to research cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity in space.[159] Crew included the first female Saudi astronaut.[160] | • Peggy Whitson • John Shoffner • Ali AlQarni • Rayyanah Barnawi | Success |  | ||
26 August 2023[161] | 12 March 2024 | • Jasmin Moghbeli[162] • Andreas Mogensen[163] • Satoshi Furukawa • Konstantin Borisov[164] | Success |   | |||
18 January 2024[165] | 9 February 2024 | Fully private flight to the ISS. Crew included the first Turkish astronaut.[166] | • / Michael López-Alegría • Walter Villadei • Alper Gezeravcı • Marcus Wandt | Success |   | ||
4 March 2024[167] | August 2024 (planned) | • Matthew Dominick • Michael Barratt • Jeanette Epps • Alexander Grebenkin[168] | Docked to the ISS |  | |||
NET 31 July 2024, 05:30 | NET 4 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".[169][170] | Planned | ||||
NET August 2024 | Early 2025 | • Zena Cardman • Nick Hague • Stephanie Wilson • Aleksandr Gorbunov[171] | Planned |  | |||
NET October 2024[172] | NET October 2024 | Fully private flight to the ISS. | • Peggy Whitson • TBA • Sławosz Uznański • TBA | Planned |   | ||
TBA | NET Late 2025 | TBA | • TBA • TBA • Takuya Onishi • Krill Peskov | Planned | |||
TBD | TBD | Last Polaris Program flight to use Crew Dragon (final flight plans to use Starship).[170] | • Jared Isaacman • TBA • TBA • TBA | Planned | |||
TBA | NET August 2025 | TBD | Servicing of Haven-1 Space Station | TBA | Planned | ||
Crew-11[173] | TBA | NET Late 2026 | TBA | • TBA • TBA • Raphaël Liégeois • TBA | Planned | .svg/public) | |
Crew-12[173] | TBA | NET Late 2027 | TBA | TBA | Planned | ||
Crew-13[173] | TBA | NET Late 2028 | TBA | TBA | Planned | ||
Crew-14[173] | TBA | NET Late 2029 | TBA | TBA | Planned |
Cargo Dragon flights
[edit]
| Mission and Patch | Capsule[175] | Launch date | Landing date | Description | Outcome | Files |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 December 2020, 16:17 | 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 |  | |||
3 June 2021, 17:29 | Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 1 and iROSA 2 | Success |  | |||
29 August 2021, 07:14 | Success |  | ||||
21 December 2021, 10:07 | Success |  | ||||
15 July 2022, 00:44 | Success |  | ||||
26 November 2022, 19:20[176] | Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 3 and iROSA 4.[177] | Success |  | |||
15 March 2023, 00:30[178] | Success |  | ||||
5 June 2023, 15:47[179] | Also delivered solar arrays iROSA 5 and iROSA 6[180] 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.[181] | Success |  | |||
10 November 2023, 01:28[182] | Success |  | ||||
21 March 2024, 20:55[183] | First Dragon 2 launch from SLC-40 | Success |  | |||
September 2024 (planned)[184] | Planned |  | ||||
December 2024 (planned)[184] | Planned | |||||
CRS-33 | TBA | March 2025 (planned)[184] | Planned | |||
CRS-34 | TBA | Q3 2025 (planned)[184] | Planned | |||
CRS-35 | TBA | 2026 (planned)[184] | Planned | |||
ISS Deorbit Vehicle | TBA | 2030 (planned)[185] | 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]
- Comparison of crewed space vehicles
- Comparison of space station cargo vehicles
- List of crewed spacecraft
- Private spaceflight – Spaceflight not paid for by a government agency
Notes
[edit]
[edit]
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SpaceX Dragon 2.
SpaceX CRS-2, also known as SpX-2[6] was the fourth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft, the fifth and final flight for the company's two-stage Falcon 9 v1.0 launch vehicle, and the second SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract.
The launch occurred on 1 March 2013.[1] A minor technical issue on the Dragon spacecraft involving the RCS thruster pods occurred upon reaching orbit, but it was recoverable.[7] The vehicle was released from the station on 26 March 2013, at 10:56 UTC and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 16:34 UTC.[3]
History
[edit]
The SpaceX CRS-2 Falcon 9 launching on 1 March 2013
The planned shipment of the Falcon 9 first stage from Texas to the Florida launch site was delayed due to the ongoing investigation of the engine failure that occurred on the previous flight.[8] In late November 2012, it was reported that the CRS-2 Falcon 9 had been transported to Cape Canaveral (CCAFS).[9] A static fire test occurred for the CRS-2 Falcon 9 on 25 February 2013.[10]
Firsts
[edit]
The Dragon unpressurized trunk section, which allows the transport of unpressurized cargo to the ISS, had its first use on this flight.[11] This cargo consisted of two Heat Rejection Subsystem Grapple Fixtures (HRSGFs), which are essentially bars to be attached to the ISS radiators to allow for future movement work.
Payload
[edit]
When launched the CRS-2 Dragon was filled with about 677 kg (1,493 lb) of cargo, 575 kg (1,268 lb) without packaging.[12] Included is 81 kg (179 lb) of crew supplies, 347 kg (765 lb) of scientific experiments and experiment hardware, 135 kg (298 lb) of hardware for the station and other miscellaneous items,[12] among them a CD copy of the song "Up in the Air" by rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, was premiered on board the International Space Station (ISS) on 18 March 2013, during a NASA TV broadcast from the station.[13] The two Heat Rejection Subsystem Grapple Fixtures (HRSGFs) had a combined weight of 221 kg (487 lb) and were transported to the ISS inside the unpressurized Dragon trunk as external cargo.[14]
The Dragon returned 1,370 kg (3,020 lb) of cargo, 1,210 kg (2,670 lb) without packaging.[12] Included is 95 kg (209 lb) of crew supplies, 660 kg (1,460 lb) of scientific experiments and experiment hardware, 401 kg (884 lb) of space station hardware, 38 kg (84 lb) of spacesuit equipment and other miscellaneous items.[12]
Dragon thruster pods anomaly
[edit]
Shortly after second stage separation, at 15:45 UTC on 1 March 2013, the Dragon spacecraft encountered technical problems involving its propulsion system. "When priming its four Draco Thruster Pods, the vehicle detected insufficient pressurization on the oxidizer (Nitrogen Tetroxide) system" of three of the pods which "caused the Flight Computers to place the vehicle in Passive Abort Mode". In this mode, Dragon is not executing any more orbital operations. Its thruster system was disabled and the solar panels were not deployed since the vehicle had not achieved its proper solar panels deployment attitude. "Dragon is programmed not to open its solar panels outside its proper attitude configuration to avoid contact with the second stage. This rule is in place for scenarios in which Dragon is not properly separated from the Falcon 9 booster. As time progressed, teams working at SpaceX Mission Control, MCC-X in Hawthorne, California, started assessments of the issue".[15] During the early minutes and hours of the mission, the mission progress news came in bits, some of it over social media. An update from Elon Musk on Twitter clarified:
Issue with Dragon thruster pods. System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override.[16]
At 16:12 UTC, Elon Musk announced that a "command inhibit override" would be issued as the Dragon module was "about to pass over Australia ground station".[17] Initially solar panels deployment was held "until at least two thruster pods are active".[18] SpaceX Mission Control decided to proceed with solar deployment due to array temperatures while the spacecraft was not in active attitude control at 16:40 UTC:[15] "Thruster pod 3 tank pressure trending positive. Preparing to deploy solar arrays".[19] At 16:50 UTC, solar arrays had successfully been deployed on the Dragon spacecraft.[20] Three of the four thruster pods on the Dragon spacecraft must be operational for berthing to be allowed with the International Space Station. After making corrections, SpaceX regained control of all four thruster pods and would be able to correct its course to the ISS. According to Elon Musk, "All systems green".[21] NASA officials said that the spacecraft would not rendezvous with the ISS on 2 March 2013 as was originally planned. It would instead rendezvous on 3 March 2013.[5][22] Dragon was grappled with Canadarm2 by NASA Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford and NASA flight engineer Tom Marshburn at 10:31 UTC on 3 March 2013, and was berthed to the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the Harmony module at 13:56 UTC.[23]
Remainder of mission (3 to 26 March 2013)
[edit]
On 6 March 2013, the space station's Canadarm2 removed the grapple bars from Dragon's trunk. This event marked the first delivery of unpressurized cargo from a commercial spacecraft to the ISS.[24] The spacecraft's return to Earth was postponed to 26 March 2013 from its originally scheduled date of 25 March 2013 due to inclement weather developing near its targeted splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean. The additional day spent attached to the orbiting laboratory did not affect science samples scheduled to return aboard the spacecraft.[25][26]
On 26 March 2013, Dragon was unberthed from the Harmony node by the Canadarm2 at 08:10 UTC by commands from ground controllers. Its release from Canadarm2 occurred at 10:56 UTC; the Expedition 35 crew then commanded the spacecraft to slowly depart from the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon fired its engines for the last time at 15:42 UTC sending it through the atmosphere of Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 16:34 UTC. A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers recovered the vehicle and its scientific cargo off the coast of Baja California, for the journey back to shore which took about 30 hours.[3]
Gallery
[edit]
SpaceX CRS-2
Dragon before rollout
Launch of CRS-2
Dragon approaching the ISS
Dragon after reentry and splashdown
See also
[edit]
[edit]
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SpaceX CRS-2.
- NASA's SpaceX mission page
- SpaceX CRS-2 Mission Press Kit (February 2013)
- Video of Static Fire test - YouTube (spacexchannel)
- Video of pre-launch press conference - YouTube (ReelNASA)
- Video of launch - YouTube (ReelNASA)
- Video of Dragon arriving at the ISS - YouTube (ReelNASA)
- Video of Dragon leaving the ISS - YouTube (ReelNASA)
- Video of the Dragon capsule arriving at shore and other post-flight activities - YouTube (NASAtelevision)