Dragon 2

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Dragon 2
Iss058e027464 The uncrewed SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on approach to the station's Harmony module.jpg
Crew Dragon on the first approach to the ISS (March 3, 2019)
description
Developing country: United StatesUnited States United States
Manufacturer: SpaceX
Crew: Up to 4 people
First flight: May 6, 2015 (pad abort test)
March 2, 2019 (unmanned orbital flight)
May 30, 2020 (first manned flight)
Status: active
Launcher: Falcon 9
Technical specifications
Height: 8.1 m
Diameter: 4 m
Internal volume: 9.3 m 3
plus 37 m 3 in the drink
Takeoff mass: approx. 12 t

The Dragon 2 or Dragon V2 (Dragon Version 2) is a reusable spaceship from the private US space company SpaceX and the second model in the Dragon series. Two variants of the spaceship are being built: The Crew Dragon for manned missions and the Cargo Dragon 2 for freight transport to the International Space Station (ISS). The Falcon 9 serves as the launch vehicle .

On March 2, 2019, the first test flight to the ISS took place with an unmanned Crew Dragon. The first manned flight, SpX-DM2 , took off from Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020 .

Development and procurement

SpaceX founder and chief developer Elon Musk presented the Dragon 2 on May 29, 2014 using a mock-up . In September 2014, chose NASA , the Dragon 2 next to the CST-100 Starliner by Boeing as part of its Commercial Crew Development Program (CCDev; development program for commercial manned space flight) for the realization of. The contract is valued at $ 2.6 billion and included the construction of the spacecraft, several unmanned test flights and a demonstration flight with NASA astronauts. After successful testing and certification by NASA, six manned missions were commissioned. The first test flights are financed in the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) phase within the CCDev program.

As part of Commercial Resupply Services 2 , NASA also commissioned six cargo flights with the Cargo Dragon (CRS-21 to CRS-26).

In February 2017, SpaceX also announced that it had received an order to transport space tourists around the moon in a Dragon 2 . However, the flight was later postponed and rescheduled to the Starship .

Technology and special features

The spaceship consists of the manned capsule and a service module called a trunk. The capsule has a heat shield and is able to return to earth. All main systems, as well as the maneuver thrusters, are integrated into the capsule. The trunk has a much simpler structure than other spaceships such as the Soyuz or Apollo . He wears, among other things. aerodynamic stabilization surfaces for the aborted take-off, the solar cells and can accommodate additional charge that does not require atmospheric conditions. The trunk is separated before re-entry and then burns up.

Cockpit and operator guidance

Sunita Williams in a Crew Dragon demonstration model

The commander and pilot can control the capsule via a touchscreen control panel, which contains two screens for data output and a control panel as well as a joystick for flight control and, in addition, as a backup for operating vital and safety-relevant control variables, buttons and rotary controls.

Docking ability

If the Dragon 1 still needs its gripper arm for docking with the ISS , the Dragon 2 docks to the ISS automatically or, if necessary, controlled by the pilot. Dragon 2 uses a coupling adapter that is compatible with the International Docking System Standard (IDSS).

Heat shield

The heat shield on the underside of the capsule, which prevents the spaceship from burning up when it re- enters the atmosphere , consists of a further development of the PICA-X heat shield (Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator), which SpaceX developed for the Dragon 1 and manufactures in-house .

Landing procedures and emergency rescue

Crew Dragon during tests at the Glenn Research Center in June 2018

The spaceship should be constructed in such a way that it would be possible "to land anywhere in the country with the precision of a helicopter". For this purpose, eight so-called SuperDraco engines were integrated into the capsule. These eight engines should also function as a launch rescue system during manned missions and thus replace the classic rescue rocket. A parachute that is still present should only be opened in an emergency. The spaceship should land on four support legs, which - like the undercarriage of the space shuttle - are extended through openings in the heat shield. The SuperDracos should take over the braking shortly before touchdown.

However, these plans to land on land were canceled. Instead, the Dragon capsule is braked with parachutes and then watered down. The engines remained on board the Crew Dragon as a launch rescue system and are not used for braking; they are not available on the Cargo Dragon. The support feet were omitted in both variants.

Reusability

With the Cargo Dragon 2, up to five flights per space capsule are planned - two more than with the Dragon 1, which was used a maximum of three times. A Crew Dragon capsule will be reused for the first time on the SpaceX Crew-2 ISS feeder flight , which took off on April 23, 2021. It was already used in the SpX-DM2 mission in 2020.

Testing

The Dragon 2 must complete four test flights before it is fully operational. Two of them are used to test the rescue system, which is supposed to bring the crew out of the danger area in the event of a malfunction of the launcher. The other two lead into earth orbit, one unmanned and the last manned.

Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test

Pad abort test

During the Pad Abort Test on May 6, 2015, the Crew Dragon's rescue system was tested for the first time. To do this, a Crew Dragon in Cape Canaveral ignited their eight SuperDraco engines from a simple launching frame in order to ascend with an acceleration of up to 6 g and after about two minutes parachute into the ocean. A height of 1500 meters was reached. The capsule was recovered and analyzed. A crash test dummy and measuring devices were on board to measure the loads on the spaceship and future crew. First of all, this capsule should be refurbished for the next test flight, but since some time has passed since construction and some changes have been made to the technology, the capsule is no longer used for the in-flight abort test.

Unmanned test flight

SpX-DM1 is rolled to the start ramp

On March 2, 2019, the still unmanned Dragon Crew took off into orbit for the first time on the SpX-DM1 mission and docked at the ISS the next day. David Saint-Jacques , Alexei Ovtschinin and Anne McClain - crew of ISS Expedition 58 - were the first ISS astronauts to board the new SpaceX spacecraft. After a five-day stay, the Dragon undocked - again unmanned - and landed on parachutes in the Atlantic, where it was recovered by the SpaceX fleet. NASA was satisfied with the way the test went.

Setbacks in April 2019

On April 20, 2019, a test of all engines of the DM1 Dragon capsule took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . The spaceship exploded and was completely destroyed.

In a preliminary investigative report dated July 15, 2019, SpaceX stated that the explosion occurred just before the eight SuperDraco engines ignited. Even before the test, nitrogen tetroxide - the oxidizing agent used in the Dragon drive system - leaked into the high-pressure helium system, which is used to generate pressure in the tanks. When the pressure was built up before the engine was ignited, a small amount of the leaked liquid was pressed through a titanium valve . Surprisingly, she reacted with the metal, which set the valve on fire and triggered the explosion. As a countermeasure, among other things, the fuel flow was changed and valves were replaced with bursting discs . This ensures that nitrogen tetroxide can no longer get into the helium system.

Also in April 2019 there was a surprising malfunction of the parachute system in one of numerous tests in which a dragon mock-up was dropped from an airplane or helicopter. To solve the problem, the nylon ropes of the parachutes were replaced by three times as stable nylon ropes .

The two failures led to a delay or extension of the Dragon 2 test program by at least half a year.

Crew and replacement crew of the first manned test flight in front of the SpaceX Dragon capsule in 2018.

In-flight abort test

The unmanned in-flight abort test (flight abort test ) took place on January 19, 2020. A Dragon 2 took off on a Falcon 9 in order to simulate a malfunction of the launcher after about 1.5 minutes of flight time, at the time of the greatest aerodynamic load and trigger the rescue system. The eight SuperDraco engines ignited and brought the spaceship out of the danger zone. The first stage of the rocket ended in a fireball immediately afterwards, the second stage exploded later on impact with the sea surface. The spaceship disconnected the service module and opened the four parachutes. The capsule then watered and was recovered. The entire procedure also served as a test run for the manned launch preparation and the rescue teams. The test went smoothly and was considered a complete success from all sides.

Autumn 2015 was originally planned as the date for the test. However, it was postponed several times for various reasons. Instead of the destroyed DM1 capsule, the Dragon, which was actually intended for the subsequent DM2 test flight, was used. The latter was replaced by a capsule from more recent production for the first manned launch. Booster No. B1046 was used in its fourth use as the first stage of the launcher.

Manned test flight

Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley were nominated as NASA test pilots for the first manned test in August 2018 . This flight, called SpX-DM2, took off after several postponements on May 30, 2020 at 9:22 p.m. ( CEST ). As part of a “media event” (video transmission from the capsule) on the way to the ISS, the two astronauts named the capsule “Endeavor”. Due to the successfully completed mission, the Crew Dragon was ready for use in accordance with NASA regulations and was able to begin regular crew transport to the ISS.

mission

The first regular long-term mission to the ISS with a Crew Dragon ( SpaceX Crew-1 ) began in November 2020. The crew of this flight were the Americans Victor Glover , Michael Hopkins and Shannon Walker and the Japanese Sōichi Noguchi . This should be followed by an assignment per year, but the Dragon Crew will initially visit the ISS more often because the CST-100 Starliner is not yet ready for use. The first flight of the Cargo Dragon 2 took off in December 2020.

In addition to the ISS missions for NASA, SpaceX also markets the Crew Dragon for space tourism flights. A first was planned for the year 2021 with the Inspiration4 project and was successfully launched. With the successful start of this mission on September 16, 2021, four space tourists were transported into orbit for a 3-day excursion without professional astronauts on board. The control of the Crew Dragon is largely automated or by remote commands, without the involvement of the passengers.

After that, Axiom Space wants to bring private individuals to the ISS with the Ax-1 mission . The space tourism company Space Adventures is also planning a flight with a chartered Crew Dragon; this should lead into a low earth orbit with up to four passengers and surpass the previous world altitude record for private space travelers (i.e. the maximum orbit height of previous ISS space tourists).

Mission List

All Dragon 2 launches take place with Falcon 9 and preferably from launch site 39A of the Kennedy Space Center . The cargo version can optionally also take off from Space Launch Complex 40 of the neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . However, there is no reloading option for payloads with a short shelf life.

Manned missions are shown in bold . The start date of planned flights is a non-binding estimate of the earliest possible date; As a rule there are still postponements.

As of September 16, 2021

No. mission Start date ( UTC ) Flight duration Dragon serial no. Launch site annotation
1. SpX-DM1 March 2, 2019, 7:49 am 6 d 05:56 h C201 KSC LC-39A success
- In-flight abort test January 19, 2020, 4:30 pm 0:09 h C205 KSC LC-39A success
2. SpX-DM2 May 30, 2020, 7:22 pm 63 d 23:25 h C206 KSC LC-39A success
3. SpaceX Crew-1 November 16, 2020, 12:27 am 167 d 06:29 h C207 KSC LC-39A success
4th CRS -21 December 6, 2020, 4:17 pm 38 d 09:09 h C208 KSC LC-39A success
5. SpaceX Crew-2 April 23, 2021, 9:49 am C206 KSC LC-39A docked
6th CRS-22 June 3, 2021, 5:29 pm 36 d 10:00 h C209 KSC LC-39A success
7th CRS-23 August 29, 2021, 7:14 am C208 KSC LC-39A docked
8th. Inspiration4 September 16, 2021, 12:02 am approx 3d C207 KSC LC-39A in orbit
Planned
SpaceX Crew-3 October 2021 KSC LC-39A
CRS-24 December 2021
Ax-1 1st quarter 2022 approx. 10 d C207 KSC LC-39A
SpaceX Crew-4 April 2022 KSC LC-39A
CRS-25 May 2022
CRS-26 September 2022
SpaceX Crew-5
October 2022 at the earliest		 KSC LC-39A
Space Adventures 2022 ≤ 5 d KSC LC-39A
Ax-2 no earlier than 2022 KSC LC-39A
CRS-27 January 2023
CRS-28 June 2023
CRS-29 October 2023
SpaceX Crew-6 no
earlier than 2023 		KSC LC-39A
Ax-3 no earlier than 2023 KSC LC-39A
Ax-4 no earlier than 2023 KSC LC-39A
See also

Web links

Commons : Crew Dragon  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Videos

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Stephen Clark: Live coverage: SpaceX launches critical Crew Dragon test flight. In: Spaceflight Now. March 2, 2019, Retrieved March 2, 2019 (American English).
  2. ↑ NASA Launch Schedule | Rocket launches. NASA, accessed February 7, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b https://www.spacex.com/dragon accessed on January 4, 2019
  4. ↑ SpaceX's Crew Dragon ready for first test flight. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Twitter coverage by Chris Gebhardt, Nasaspaceflight.com, about the NASA press conference on the CRS-18 mission, July 24, 2019; Addendum .
  6. ↑ a b Martin Holland: Dragon V2: SpaceX introduces space capsule for manned space flights. heise online, May 30, 2014, accessed June 4, 2014 .
  7. ↑ NASA news, September 16, 2014, RELEASE 14-256: NASA Chooses American Companies to Transport US Astronauts to International Space Station , accessed September 18, 2014.
  8. ^ Audit of Commercial Resupply Service to the International Space Station . NASA Office of Inspector General, April 26, 2018.
  9. ↑ Jeff Foust: SpaceX signs up Japanese billionaire for circumlunar BFR flight. In: Spacenews. September 17, 2018, accessed September 18, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Space travel: SpaceX introduces reusable space shuttle Dragon V2. Golem.de, May 30, 2014, accessed June 4, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Elon Musk at the presentation of the Dragon 2 from minute 3.03; https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yEQrmDoIRO8
  12. ^ SpaceX Dragon spacecraft facts. Spaceflight Now, accessed June 4, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Elon Musk at the presentation of the spaceship on May 29, 2014 from minute 2:24; https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yEQrmDoIRO8
  14. ↑ Hans-Christian Dirscherl: Elon Musk changes plans for the Mars landing . In: PC WORLD . ( pcwelt.de [accessed on July 22, 2017]).
  15. ↑ Loren Grush: Elon Musk suggests SpaceX is scrapping its plans to land Dragon capsules on Mars. July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Twitter coverage by Chris Gebhardt, Nasaspaceflight.com, about the NASA press conference on the CRS-18 mission, July 24, 2019.
  17. ^ A b Stephanie Martin: More Fidelity for SpaceX In-Flight Abort Reduces Risk. nasa.gov, July 1, 2015, accessed July 1, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Demo-1 Post-Splashdown Remarks from Steve Stich. In: NASA Blog. NASA, March 8, 2019, accessed March 8, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Frank Wunderlich-Pfeiffer: Dragon spaceship explodes during test. In: Golem.de. April 21, 2019, accessed April 21, 2019 .
  20. ↑ a b Update: In-Flight abort static fire test anonaly investigation. SpaceX, July 15, 2019, accessed July 15, 2019 .
  21. ^ Commercial Crew Program Testing Foster's Improvements in Parachute Safety . NASA Blog, September 17, 2019.
  22. ↑ Crew Dragon Parachute Tests on YouTube , July 18, 2019.
  23. ↑ Eric Berger: Elon Musk and NASA chief get on the same page, vow to complete Crew Dragon . Ars Technica, October 11, 2019.
  24. ↑ Chris Bergin: SpaceX present to future: From retesting boosters to planning a Starship pad. In: Nasaspaceflight.com. August 2, 2019, accessed August 3, 2019 .
  25. ^ NASA Assigns First Crews to Fly Commercial Spacecraft. In: nasa.gov. NASA , August 3, 2018, accessed August 5, 2018 .
  26. ↑ Stephen Clark: Dragon crew names their spacecraft Endeavor; complete first manual flight test. Spaceflight Now, May 30, 2020, accessed May 31, 2020 .
  27. ↑ SpaceX mission "Inspiration4": lay crew begins a multi-day excursion into space , Frankfurter Rundschau, September 16, 2021
  28. ^ Space Adventures Announces Agreement with SpaceX to Launch Private Citizens on the Crew Dragon Spacecraft . Press release from Space Adventures, February 18, 2020.
  29. ↑ NASA press conference on the CRS-18 mission on July 24, 2019.
  30. ↑ Eric Ralph: SpaceX's Crew Dragon suffers catastrophic explosion during static fire test. In: teslarati.com. Teslarati, April 21, 2019, accessed April 21, 2019 .
  31. ^ Ian Atkinson: SpaceX conducts successful Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test. In: nasaspaceflight.com . NASASpaceFlight, January 17, 2020, accessed May 31, 2020.
  32. ↑ Eric Ralph: SpaceX's first NASA astronaut launch closer than ever as spacecraft and rocket near Florida. In: teslarati.com. Teslarati, February 5, 2020, accessed February 6, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Geoff Barrett: SpaceX Falcon 9 | CREW-1. In: https://gdbarrett.com/ . Retrieved November 23, 2020 .
  34. ^ Tim Dodd: CRS-21 | FALCON 9 BLOCK 5. In: Everyday Astronaut. Accessed December 6, 2020 .
  35. ↑ SpaceX Will Reuse Dragon 2 DM-2 Capsule For NASA's Crew-2 Mission. In: WCCFTECH. Retrieved December 8, 2020 .
  36. ^ SpaceX launches CRS-22, new solar arrays to International Space Station . Nasaspaceflight.com, June 3, 2021.
  37. ↑ Cargo Dragon 2 Capsules in List of Dragon Capsules . Elonx.net, June 6, 2021.
  38. ↑ Emre Kelly: Meet the final two crew members selected on SpaceX's all-civilian mission to orbit Earth. Retrieved April 4, 2021 (American English).
  39. ↑ Twitter message from Michael Sheetz, February 1, 2021.
  40. ↑ a b Microgravity Research Flights. In: nasa.gov . Glenn Research Center , accessed June 26, 2021.
  41. ↑ Axiom Space reveals historic first private crew to visit International Space Station . Axiom Space press release , January 26, 2021.
  42. ↑ Stephen Clark: Axiom finalizing agreements for private astronaut mission to space station. Spaceflight Now, September 23, 2020, accessed on September 24, 2020 .
  43. ↑ Twitter message from Michael López-Alegría, November 16, 2020.
  44. ↑ a b c d e f g SMSR integrated master schedule (PDF; 0.4 MB). NASA, April 28, 2021, archived May 3, 2021.
  45. ↑ Michael Sheetz: SpaceX to fly first mission to space with an all-civilian crew later this year . CNBC, February 1, 2021.
  46. ↑ a b c Axiom Space purchases three Crew Dragon missions . Spacenews, June 3, 2021
Supply spaceships
In use:

Progress  | Cygnus  | Tianzhou  | Cargo Dragon 2

In development:

Dream Chaser  | HTV-X  | Chinese multipurpose spaceship

Retired:

TKS  | Space Shuttle  | Automated Transfer Vehicle  | H-2 Transfer Vehicle  | Dragon 1

Unrealized:

Buran  | LKS  | Hermes  | Kistler K-1 Orbital Vehicle  | Parom

In each case sorted by (planned) date of the first flight above 100 km
Manned spaceships


In use:

Soyuz  | Shenzhou  | Crew Dragon  | New Shepard

In testing:

CST-100  | SpaceShipTwo  | Orion  | Chinese multipurpose spaceship

In development:

Gaganyaan  | Starship  | Orel  | Dream chaser

Retired:

Vostok  | Mercury  | Vozhod  | Gemini  | Apollo  | Space Shuttle  | SpaceShipOne

No manned operation:

TKS  | Buran

In each case ordered according to the (planned) date of the first manned flight above 100 km