Cargo Dragon C211

Summary

Dragon C211 is the third Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, and the third in a line of International Space Station resupply craft which replaced the Dragon capsule, manufactured by SpaceX. The missions are contracted by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It flew for the first time on the CRS-26 mission in November 2022.[1]

Dragon C211
C211 during preflight operations for CRS-26
TypeSpace capsule
ClassDragon 2
OwnerSpaceX
ManufacturerSpaceX
Specifications
Dimensions4.4 m × 3.7 m (14 ft × 12 ft)
PowerSolar panel
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5
History
LocationHawthorne, California
First flight
Last flight
Flights2
Flight time88 Days, 7 Hours and 4 Minutes
Dragon 2s

Cargo Dragon edit

C211 is the third SpaceX Dragon 2 cargo variant. C211 and the other Cargo Dragons are different from the crewed variant by launching without seats, cockpit controls, astronaut life support systems, or SuperDraco abort engines. The Cargo Dragon improved on many aspects of the original Dragon design, including the recovery and refurbishment process.

Cargo Dragon capsules splash down under parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida or in the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. This NASA preference was added to all CRS-2 awards to allow for cargo to be more quickly returned to the Kennedy Space Center after splashdown.

Flights edit

Mission Patch Launch date (UTC) Duration Landing date (UTC) Notes Outcome
CRS-26   26 November 2022
19:20:42
45 days 11 January 2023
10:19
Sixth time a Dragon 2 used for a CRS mission, sixth launch of phase 2 of CRS missions Success
CRS-29   10 November 2023
01:28
42 days 22 December 2023
17:33
Ninth time a Dragon 2 used for a CRS mission, ninth launch of phase 2 of CRS missions Success

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Kanayama, Lee (16 September 2022). "SpaceX and NASA in final preparations for Crew-5 mission". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 17 September 2022.