Crew Dragon
The space capsule developed by SpaceX under a NASA contract. It has successfully flown 13 missions to the ISS and stands in stark contrast to the troubled development of Boeing's Starliner.
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8/26/2025, 6:01:57 AM
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8/26/2025, 6:03:41 AM
Summary
The Crew Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, serving as a key component of the Dragon 2 class. It is primarily designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a role it has successfully fulfilled since its first crewed flight in May 2020. The spacecraft is noted for its consistent success and cost-effectiveness, particularly when contrasted with the troubled Boeing Starliner program, making it a case study in effective corporate execution. Beyond NASA missions, Crew Dragon is also utilized for commercial spaceflights and is planned for use with Axiom Space's future space station.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Type
Reusable spacecraft
Developer
SpaceX
Variant of
SpaceX Dragon 2
Primary Role
Transport crews to and from the International Space Station (ISS)
Docking Capability
Fully autonomous rendezvous and docking with manual override using NASA Docking System (NDS)
Pressurized Volume
9.3 m³ / 328 ft³
Maneuvering Thrusters
Draco thrusters
Crew Capacity (Designed)
Up to 7 astronauts
Typical ISS Docking Duration
180 days
Launch Escape System Thrusters
8 SuperDraco thrusters
Crew Capacity (Typical Operation)
2 to 4 astronauts
Timeline
- SpaceX Dragon 2, which includes the Crew Dragon variant, was introduced. (Source: Web search results)
2019
- First un-crewed flight test (Demo-1) of Crew Dragon. (Source: Web search results)
2019-03
- First crewed flight test (Demo-2) of Crew Dragon, marking the first time a private company launched an orbital crewed spacecraft. (Source: Web search results)
2020-05
- DM-2 mission launched, carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS on Crew Dragon 'Endeavour'. (Source: Web search results)
2020-05-30
- Crew-1 mission launched, carrying astronauts Micheal Hopkins, Victor Glover, Soichi Noguchi, and Shannon Walker to the ISS on Crew Dragon 'Resilience'. (Source: Web search results)
2020-11-16
- Crew-2 mission launched, carrying astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet to the ISS on Crew Dragon 'Endeavour'. (Source: Web search results)
2021-04-23
Web Search Results
- SpaceX Dragon - Wikipedia
The Crew Dragon is one of the primary spacecraft ferrying crew members to and from the ISS and on private missions. The Cargo Dragon carries cargo to the ISS under the CRS program. _Red Dragon_ ------------ [edit] Main article: SpaceX Red Dragon [...] An improved version, the Dragon 2, was introduced in 2019 and has both crewed and cargo versions. The first un-crewed flight test (Demo-1) took place in March 2019, followed by a crewed flight test (Demo-2) in May 2020. Since those flight tests, the Crew Dragon has become one of the primary spacecraft ferrying crew to and from the ISS. The Cargo Dragon continues to carry cargo under the CRS program. [...] Dragon 2 -------- [edit] Image 5 Crew Dragon_Endurance_ docked to the ISS Main article: SpaceX Dragon 2 An improved version, the Dragon 2, was introduced in 2019 and has two versions: Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon. The first un-crewed flight test (Demo-1) took place in March 2019, followed by a crewed flight test (Demo-2) in May 2020.
- Dragon 2 - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Hay dos variantes: Crew Dragon y Cargo Dragon. Crew Dragon se llamó inicialmente "DragonRider" y desde el principio se pretendía apoyar a una tripulación de siete o una combinación de tripulación y carga. Es capaz de realizar reuniones y acoplamiento completamente autónomos con capacidad de anulación manual, utilizando el Sistema de acoplamiento de la NASA (NDS). Para misiones típicas, Crew Dragon permanecerá acoplado a la ISS por un período de 180 días, pero está diseñado para permanecer [...] El SpaceX Dragon 2 es una clase de nave espacial parcialmente reutilizable desarrollada y fabricada por la compañía estadounidense SpaceX para sustituir a la Dragon 1, una nave espacial de carga también reutilizable. Cuenta con dos variantes: Crew Dragon, una cápsula espacial capaz de transportar hasta siete astronautas, y Cargo Dragon, un reemplazo actualizado de la Dragon original. La nave espacial queda planeada para ser lanzada sobre un cohete Falcon 9 Block 5 y regresa a la Tierra través [...] espacial Space Adventures y para transportar turistas hacia y desde la estación espacial planeada por Axiom Space. El primer vuelo de prueba sin tripulación de Crew Dragon tuvo lugar en marzo de 2019, y su primer vuelo de prueba con tripulación, con los astronautas Robert Behnken y Douglas Hurley, ocurrió en mayo de 2020. Esta fue la primera vez que una empresa privada lanzó una nave espacial orbital tripulada. Se espera que Cargo Dragon suministre carga a la ISS bajo un contrato Commercial
- SpaceX Dragon 2 - Wikipedia
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. [...] The typical Crew Dragon mission includes four astronauts: a commander who leads the mission and has primary responsibility for operating the spacecraft, a pilot who serves as backup for both command and operations and two mission specialists who may have specific duties assigned depending on the mission. However, the Crew Dragon can fly missions with just two astronauts as needed, and in an emergency, up to seven astronauts could return to Earth from the ISS on Dragon.( [...] Crew Dragon ----------- [edit] Crew Dragon is capable of autonomous operation. SpaceX and NASA state that it is capable of carrying seven astronauts, but in normal operations, it carries two to four crew members, and as of January 2025( has never carried more than four.(
- List of all SpaceX crewed flights to space
Image 13: SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) ### Crew Dragon Crew Dragon is a reusable spacecraft that was de… Image 14: SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) ### SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) Launch Author ------ Image 15: Avatar for Seth KurkowskiSeth KurkowskiSethKurk Seth Kurkowski covers launches and general space news for Space Explored. He has been following launches from Florida since 2018. []( []( Image 16Image 17Image 18Image 19 [...] | Dates (UTC) | Mission | Crew | Destination | Dragon | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | May 30 – August 2, 2020 | DM-2 | Doug Hurley Bob Behken | ISS | Endeavour | | November 16, 2020 – May 2, 2020 | Crew-1 | Micheal Hopkins Victor Glover Soichi Noguchi Shannon Walker | ISS | Resilience | | April 23 – November 9, 2021 | Crew-2 | Shane Kimbrough Megan MuchArthur Akihiko Hoshide Thomas Pesquet | ISS | Endeavour | [...] More ESA Roscosmos Sierra Space Astra Boeing Firefly Virgin Orbit Virgin Galactic Northrop Grumman Science Climate Change Nuclear Fusion James Webb telescope Hubble Space Telescope Defense Store Join our Discord! Toggle dark mode Spaceflight Crew Dragon SpaceX Launch
- Dragon - SpaceX
The Dragon spacecraft, also known as the pressurized section, allows for the transport of people as well as environmentally sensitive cargo. Dragon is equipped with Draco thrusters that allow Dragon to maneuver while on orbit and 8 SuperDracos that power the spacecraft's launch escape system. Volume 9.3 m³ / 328 ft³ ### Video Crew dragon interior -------------------- Image 7 Taking humans to space ======================