Astronomy: SpaceX Crew Dragon

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SpaceX Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by the American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. The spacecraft, which consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module, has two variants: the 4-person Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the Dragon 1 cargo capsule.

Commentary

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

SpaceX Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operat ed by the American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. The spacecraft, which consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module, has two variants: the 4-person Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the Dragon 1 cargo capsule. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown.

Commentary

Source: Internal

Why SpaceX Crew Dragon matters: Every mission and telescope pushes the boundary of what humanity can observe and understand. These instruments are our eyes and hands reaching into the cosmo s. Crew Dragon's primary role is to transport crews to and from the ISS under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a task handled by the Space Shuttle until it was retired in 2011. It will be joined by Boeing's Starliner in this role when NASA certifies it. Crew Dragon is also used for commercial flights to ISS and other destinations and is expected to be used to transport people to and from Axiom Space's planned space station. Cargo Dragon brings cargo to the ISS under a Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA, a duty it shares with Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft. As of January 2025, it is the only reusable orbital cargo spacecraft in operation, though it may eventually be joined by the under-development Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane.

Commentary

Source: Internal

Deep dive: SpaceX Crew Dragon It will be joined by Boeing's Starliner in this role when NASA certifies it. Crew Dragon is also used for co mmercial flights to ISS and other destinations and is expected to be used to transport people to and from Axiom Space's planned space station. Cargo Dragon brings cargo to the ISS under a Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA, a duty it shares with Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft. As of January 2025, it is the only reusable orbital cargo spacecraft in operation, though it may eventually be joined by the under-development Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Dragon_2 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)