It can return to Earth 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb), which can be all unpressurized disposal mass or up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lb) of return pressurized cargo. The mission also marked the second flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. [33], This article is about the original Cargo Dragon. When it returns to Earth, the Crew Dragon can't simply land on a runway like the space shuttle. Future SpaceX commercial resupply flights to ISS under the second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) program will use the SpaceX Dragon 2 version. Crew Dragon evolved from an earlier design, called Dragon 1, which launched 20 times on missions to deliver cargo to the ISS between May 2012 and March 2020. SpaceX engineer John Federspiel, explains: "When we wanted to take Dragon and make it human-rated, I think we took a different approach to spaceship design than has previously been done, because we wanted this to feel like a 21st Century spaceship. During March 2015, it was announced that SpaceX had been awarded an additional three missions under Commercial Resupply Services Phase 1. The Dragon XL will stay at the Gateway for 6 to 12 months at a time, when research payloads inside and outside the cargo vessel could be operated remotely, even when crews are not present. On 18 August 2006, NASA announced that SpaceX had been chosen, along with Kistler Aerospace, to develop cargo launch services for the ISS. This Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit had initially been used as a ground test bed to validate several of the capsule's systems. For now, Behnken and Hurley are biding their time on Crew Dragon, and making sure that the spacecraft's autonomous systems are functioning properly while the spacecraft slowly eases itself on a path to rendezvous with the ISS. VideoWhat is on the Moon? [90][91] The modified Red Dragon capsule would have performed all entry, descent and landing (EDL) functions needed to deliver payloads of 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) or more to the Martian surface without using a parachute. [40] In November 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a re-entry license for the Dragon capsule, the first such license ever awarded to a commercial vehicle. SpaceX CRS-11, SpaceX's eleventh CRS mission, was successfully launched on 3 June 2017 from Kennedy Space Center LC-39A, being the 100th mission to be launched from that pad. Soon, the first-stage rocket booster will detach, and the second-stage of the rocket will light up its own engine — and that will accelerate Behnken and Hurley's capsule to orbital velocity. The robotic SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 21 May 2015. [85] The phase 2 of the CRS contract will be flown using the Dragon 2 Cargo variant lacking cockpit controls, seats and life support systems. The launch escape system (LES) consists of a set of SpaceX-designed SuperDraco engines that fire in the event of an emergency to propel the capsule and its crew safely away from the rocket. From launch up until shortly before re-entry, the capsule is attached to a section called the trunk which has solar panels, heat-removal radiators and fins to provide stability during emergency aborts. Crew Dragon is also designed to be "two-fault tolerant". This mission was the first to re-fly a recovered Dragon capsule that previously flew on CRS-4 mission. Onboard environment: 10–46 °C (50–115 °F); 0.1 cubic metres (3.5 cu ft) unpressurized payload volume. At Kennedy Space Center, the nerves are palpable at the press site. It returned from orbit and splashdown on 13 January 2018, making it the first space capsule to be reflown to orbit more than once.[58]. [78], The Dragon capsule can transport 3,310 kilograms (7,300 lb) of cargo, which can be all pressurized, all unpressurized, or a combination thereof.