Dragon

SpaceX Dragon

Witness the successful launch of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, May 25, 2012See all videos for this article

Dragon, privately developed spacecraft built by the American corporation SpaceX and the first private spacecraft to carry astronauts to orbit. The first of two test flights was launched on December 8, 2010, and the second test flight, which carried cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), was launched on May 22, 2012. The first crewed flight launched on May 30, 2020, and carried astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken to the ISS.

Dragon on recovery ship

Dragon has a bell-shaped forward compartment that is pressurized and a cylindrical rear compartment called the trunk that is unpressurized. A pair of solar arrays that power the spacecraft are attached to the trunk. Dragon can carry 6,000 kg (13,000 pounds) of supplies to the ISS. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration contracted with SpaceX for 20 uncrewed Dragon flights to the ISS through 2020.

SpaceX Dragon at the International Space Station

The original Dragon configuration was supplanted by Dragon 2, which has two variants, Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon. Crew Dragon can carry up to seven astronauts. An uncrewed demo Crew Dragon docked with the ISS in March 2019. The first Crew Dragon 2 flight with two astronauts, Demo-2, launched in May 2020, and the first fully operational mission, Crew-1, carried four astronauts to the ISS in November 2020. Crew Dragons are planned to launch to the ISS every six months. The other variant, Cargo Dragon, will carry supplies to the ISS.

Dragon is launched by a Falcon 9 launch vehicle (also developed by SpaceX) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. At the end of its mission, Dragon splashes down at sea.