Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to
deliver both cargo and people to orbiting
destinations. Dragon made history in 2012 when it
became the first commercial spacecraft in history
to deliver cargo to the International Space Station
and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously
achieved only by governments. It is the only
spacecraft currently flying that is capable of
returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.
Currently Dragon carries cargo to space, but it
was designed from the beginning to carry humans.
Under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is now
developing the refinements that will enable Dragon
to fly crew. Dragon's first manned test flight is
expected to take place as early as 2018.
OVERVIEWTOTAL LAUNCH PAYLOAD MASS 6,000 kg 13,228 lbs TOTAL LAUNCH PAYLOAD VOLUME 25m3 883 ft3 PRESSURIZED SECTIONThe pressurized section of the spacecraft, also referred to as the capsule, is designed to carry both cargo and humans into space. Towards the base of the capsule but outside the pressurized structure are the Draco thrusters, Dragon's guidance navigation and control (GNC) bay and Dragon’s advanced heat shield. SPACECRAFT PAYLOAD VOLUME 11 m3 388 ft3 TRUNKDragon’s trunk supports the spacecraft during ascent to space, carries unpressurized cargo and houses Dragon’s solar arrays. The trunk and solar arrays remain attached to Dragon until shortly before reentry to Earth’s atmosphere, when they are jettisoned. TRUNK PAYLOAD VOLUME 14m3 494 ft3 |
TOTAL RETURN PAYLOAD MASS 3,000 kg 6,614 lbs TOTAL RETURN PAYLOAD VOLUME 11m3 388 ft3 |
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW |
HEIGHT WITH TRUNK 7.2 m 23.6 ft |
DIAMETER 3.7 m 12 ft |
SIDEWALL ANGLE 15° |
ORBIT DURATION Up to 2 Years |
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The Dragon spacecraft has three configurations to meet a variety of needs:cargo, crew and DragonLab. To ensure a rapid transition from cargo to crew capability, the cargo and crew configurations of Dragon are almost identical. This commonality simplifies the human rating process, allowing systems critical to crew and space station safety to be fully tested on unmanned cargo flights. With DragonLab, essentially the same spacecraft can be used as a platform for in-space technology demonstrations and experiments.
CARGO
CREW
DRAGON LAB
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