SpaceX Dragon: A Game Changer for NASA

On May 30, 2020, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts in the space agency’s history launched by the SpaceX Dragon, a commercially produced and operated vehicle.

As mentioned by SpaceX, the Dragon is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. The vehicle has put its stamp on history as the first private spacecraft to take humans to the International Space Station (ISS).

All of these are part of Elon Musk’s primary purpose for human spaceflight through the first NASA crewed launch from American soil since 2011.

Importance of SpaceX Dragon for NASA

The Dragon has evolved from Dragon 1 or Cargo Dragon, a reusable spacecraft launched 20 times to deliver cargo to the ISS. Considering the financial aspect of the attempt , it is considered a big step for NASA, which has been dependent on Russian-made Soyuz rockets, of which a seat costs more than $90 million, to carry astronauts to space.

SpaceX mechanical engineer John Federspiel describes the spacecraft as “a 21st century spaceship,” referring to its interior design.

“Probably one of the biggest features of Dragon are the touchscreens on the inside. We designed them not just to be very functional, but with a user experience in mind,” he told BBC.

SpaceX Dragon.

Touchscreen displays

In historic mission happened in May 2020, Hurley and Behnken experienced the touch-screen control panels during the spaceflight.

Astronaut Hurley said they went into it with a very open mind, adding that it was challenging for them at first to work through those different design issues, but they got to a point where the vehicle, from the manual flying standpoint with the touchscreen.

Pressurized and unpressurized sections

As for the overview of the SpaceX Dragon, the vehicle stands at 27 feet (8.1 meters) tall and 13 feet (4 meters) wide, with a capsule volume of 9.3 cubic meters and a trunk volume of 37 cubic meters.

Solar panels covering the trunk provides power to Dragon during flight and while on-station. The Dragon capsule is the pressurized section of the vehicle in contrast with the trunk carrying unpressurized cargo.

SpaceX Dragon unpressurized trunk. Photo credit: NASA

Powerful Draco thrusters

Launch and return payload masses are 6,000 kilograms and 3,000 kilograms, respectively.

The Dragon spacecraft has 16 Draco thrusters, used to direct the spacecraft during maneuvers, orbit adjustment and attitude control. Each of the thrusters is capable of generating 90 pounds of force in the vacuum of space.

Plans for space tourism with the Dragon

Developed under NASA’s Coomercial Crew program, Crew Dragon is also planned to be used for space tourism.

SpaceX offers commercial flights for private passengers to both Earth and Lunar orbit. If you are interested in the journey, the company shares an email adress on its website.

Additional information: NASA’s budget request from 2019 to 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars), per Statista:

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Bonus: Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft on Its Way to the Space Station

Write to Cahid Atik at cahid.atik@orbitinside.com