Resilience
Resilience at the International Space Station.
TypeSpace capsule
ClassDragon 2
Serial no.C207
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 time170 days and 5 hours
Dragon 2s
← Endeavour
C208 →

Crew Dragon Resilience (Dragon C207) is a Crew Dragon spacecraft manufactured by SpaceX and built under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. In November 2020, it was launched into orbit to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-1 mission. With crew prompting, Resilience docked autonomously to the station at 04:01 UTC on 17 November 2020, or Day 2 of the mission, marking the first operational docking of a Crew Dragon and the first operational docking of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission carried four additional members of Expedition 64 to the three already on station.[1][2]

Resilience returned to Earth at the end of the Crew-1 mission on 2 May 2021, and soon after began refurbishment ahead of its next assignment, the Inspiration4 mission which launched on 16 September 2021.[3][4][5]

History

A space capsule with burnt marks on sea
Resilience splashdown to the Gulf of Mexico, after the Crew-1 mission has ended

Originally planned to fly the mission after Crew-1, Crew Dragon C207 was reassigned to fly Crew-1 after an anomaly during a static fire test destroyed capsule C204 intended to be re-flown on the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test.[6] The spacecraft C205 intended to be used on the Demo-2 mission replaced the destroyed spacecraft for the in-flight abort test. C206 intended for use with the Crew-1 mission, was reassigned to the Demo-2 mission.

On 1 May 2020, SpaceX said that spacecraft C207 was in production and astronaut training underway.[7] Crew Dragon C207 arrived at SpaceX processing facilities in Florida on 18 August 2020.[8][9]

At a NASA press conference on 29 September 2020, commander Michael Hopkins revealed that C207 had been named Resilience.[10] The trunk was attached and secured to the capsule on 2 October 2020 at Cape Canaveral.[11]

Resilience was first launched on 16 November 2020 (UTC) on a Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), LC-39A, carrying NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi on a six-month mission to the International Space Station.[1]

The docking adapter, normally used to dock with the International Space Station, was replaced by a domed glass window for the Inspiration4 mission. This allows for 360-degree views of space and the Earth, similar to those provided by the Cupola Module on the ISS.[12]

Flights

Mission Patch Launch date (UTC) Landing date (UTC) Crew Duration Remarks Outcome
Crew-1 16 November 2020, 00:27:17[1] 2 May 2021, 06:56:33[13]
167 days Long-duration mission; completed. Ferried four members of the Expedition 64/65 crew to the ISS. First operational flight of Crew Dragon and of the Commercial Crew Program. Success
Inspiration4 Inspiration4 Patch 1 and Patch 2 16 September 2021,[14] 00:02:56 18 September 2021, 23:07
3 days[15] Space tourism mission contracted by Jared Isaacman in an effort to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The first all-civilian space mission launched by SpaceX.[14] Success
Polaris Dawn NET early 2024 NET early 2024
5 days (planned) Five-day mission. Ferries four members of the Polaris Program up to a initial apogee of 1400 km. Polaris Dawn will conduct research on the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health. The crew will also attempt the first commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) with SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits. Planned

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c Corbett, Tobias; Barker, Nathan (15 November 2020). "With Resilience, NASA and SpaceX begin operational Commercial Crew flights". NASASpaceFlight.com.
  2. ^ "Commercial Crew Program status". NASA. 16 November 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2 May 2021). "SpaceX Makes First Nighttime Splashdown With Astronauts Since 1968". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ "twitter.com/inspiration4x/status/1436353258726035462". Twitter. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  5. ^ "SpaceX prepares to send first all-civilian crew into orbit". Reuters. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  6. ^ Gebhardt, Christ (29 May 2019). "NASA briefly updates status of Crew Dragon anomaly, SpaceX test schedule". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  7. ^ @SpaceX (1 May 2020). "Once Demo-2 is complete, and the SpaceX and NASA teams have reviewed all the data for certification, SpaceX will launch Crew Dragon's first six-month operational mission (Crew-1) later this year. The Crew-1 spacecraft is in production and astronaut training is well underway" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 June 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Groh, Jamie (23 August 2020). "SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrives in Florida for next NASA astronaut launch". teslarati.com. Teslarati. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  9. ^ Sempsrott, Danielle (21 August 2020). "Preparations Continue for SpaceX First Operational Flight with Astronauts". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 24 August 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ @ChrisG_NSF (29 September 2020). "Crew-1 has named their Dragon..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "NASA, SpaceX Crew-1 Launch Update". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 10 October 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (30 March 2021). "SpaceX's Dragon spaceship is getting the ultimate window for private Inspiration4 spaceflight". space.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Crew-1 Makes Nighttime Splashdown, Ends Mission". NASA. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  14. ^ a b Berger, Eric (1 February 2021). "SpaceX announces first "free flyer" human spaceflight". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. ^ Chang, Kenneth (1 February 2021). "To Get on This SpaceX Flight, You Don't Have to Be Rich, Just Lucky". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

External links

SpaceX Dragon 1 and Dragon 2
SpaceX
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