Crew Dragon Demo-1
Dragon C204 silhouetted against Earth's horizon, during its approach to the ISS
NamesCrew Demo-1
SpaceX Demo-1
Demonstration Mission-1
Mission typeISS technology demonstration
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2019-011A
SATCAT no.44063Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration6 days, 5 hours, 56 minutes
Orbits completed62
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon C204
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,055 kg (26,577 lb)
Dry mass6,350 kg (14,000 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date2 March 2019, 07:49:03 UTC
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1051.1)
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Recovered byGO Searcher (Megan)
Landing date8 March 2019, 13:45:08 UTC [1]
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward [2]
Docking date3 March 2019, 10:51 UTC
Undocking date8 March 2019, 07:32 UTC
Time docked4 days, 20 hours, 41 minutes

Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission patch
 

Crew Dragon Demo-1 (officially Crew Demo-1, SpaceX Demo-1, or Demonstration Mission-1)[lower-alpha 1] was the first orbital test of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. The mission launched on 2 March 2019 [3][4] at 07:49:03 UTC, and arrived at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019, a little over 24 hours after the launch. The mission ended following a successful splashdown on 8 March 2019 at 13:45:08 UTC.[5][6]

During a separate test, on 20 April 2019, the capsule used on Crew Demo-1 was unexpectedly destroyed when firing the SuperDraco engines at Landing Zone 1.[7]

Mission

The spacecraft tested the approach and automated docking procedures with the International Space Station (ISS), consequent undocking from the ISS, full re-entry, splashdown and recovery steps to provide data requisite to subsequently qualify for flights transporting humans to the ISS. Life support systems were monitored throughout the test flight.[8] The capsule was planned for re-use in an in-flight abort test, but it was destroyed in an accident during a static fire test of its SuperDraco thrusters.[7]

The mission was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle contracted by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Initial plans had hoped to see CCDev2 flights as early as 2015.[9] Demo-1 was eventually slated for no earlier than December 2016, and then delayed several times throughout 2017.[10][11][12] The first exact date was published by NASA in November 2018 to be 17 January 2019,[13] but this was delayed until February 2019.[14] The static fire took place on 24 January 2019 and the launch date was set to 23 February 2019.[15] By the end of January 2019, the launch was delayed to no earlier than 2 March 2019 according to a FCC filing by SpaceX for Dragon 2 capsule telemetry, tracking, and command.[3]

Demo-1 passed its Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and Launch Readiness Review (LRR) on 22 February 2019 and 27 February 2019 respectively.[16]

The Falcon 9 with Demo-1 rolled out to the LC-39A on 28 February 2019 at around 15:00 UTC and went vertical a few hours later.[17] The spacecraft was launched on 2 March 2019 at 07:49:03 UTC and successfully docked to the ISS on 3 March 2019 at 10:51 UTC.[18][19]

The Dragon 2 spacecraft successfully undocked from the ISS on 8 March 2019 at 07:32 UTC. The capsule separated from the trunk, performed its de-orbit burn, entered the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean about 320 km (200 mi) off Florida's east coast later that day at 13:45:08 UTC.[6] The capsule was recovered using SpaceX's recovery ship GO Searcher and was returned to the mainland where it was examined and the data collected by the on board sensors was analyzed.[20][21]

Payload

Instead of carrying astronauts to the ISS, this flight had an Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) wearing SpaceX's custom flight suit. The ATD is named Ripley, as a homage to Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien movies franchise. The capsule was weighted similarly to missions with astronauts onboard and carried approximately 180 kg (400 lb) of supplies and equipment including a "super high tech zero-g indicator" (a plush toy).[22][23][24][2] The "zero-g indicator" was left on board the ISS after undocking, while Ripley returned safely to Earth on 8 March 2019.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This mission has multiple official names. Mission operator SpaceX refers to the mission as "Crew Demo-1", while customer NASA refers to the mission as "SpaceX Demo-1". Unless otherwise noted, this article uses "Demo-1" to refer to this mission.

References

  1. ↑ "Commercial Crew Program American Rockets American Spacecraft American Soil" (PDF). nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 "NASA, SpaceX Launch First Flight Test of Space System Designed for Crew". nasa.gov. NASA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. 1 2 "Space Exploration Technologies Corp. WF9XGI 0068-EX-ST-2019 FCC Experimental License". FCC. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ "February 6, 2019 – Commercial Crew Program". NASA. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ SpaceX #CrewDragon Demonstration Flight Return to Earth. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Crew Dragon's inaugural flight to Station concludes with splashdown". NASASpaceFlight.com. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 Berger, Eric (22 April 2019). "Here's what we know, and what we don't, about the Crew Dragon accident". Ars Technica. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  8. ↑ Foust, Jeff (4 February 2016). "SpaceX seeks to accelerate Falcon 9 production and launch rates this year". SpaceNews. Retrieved 21 March 2016. Shotwell said the company is planning an in-flight abort test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft before the end of this year, where the vehicle uses its thrusters to separate from a Falcon 9 launch vehicle during ascent. That will be followed in 2017 by two demonstration flights to the International Space Station, the first without a crew and the second with astronauts on board, and then the first operational mission.
  9. ↑ Richardson, Derek (5 January 2019). "Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon vertical at Launch Complex 39A". SpaceFlight Insider. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "First SpaceX commercial crew test flight could slip to 2019". SpaceNews. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "SpaceX delays commercial crew test flights to latter half of 2018". SpaceNews. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "Report warns of additional commercial crew delays". SpaceNews. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  13. ↑ "NASA Invites Media to SpaceX Demo-1 Launch" (Press release). NASA. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  14. ↑ "SpaceX Demo-1 Launch Update". NASA Commercial Crew Program Blog. NASA. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in key test ahead of Crew Dragon demo flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  16. ↑ Ralph, Eric (28 February 2019). "SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 head to Pad 39A for historic launch debut". Teslarati. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  17. ↑ Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX's Crew Dragon rolls out for test flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  18. ↑ "Crew Dragon successfully conducts debut docking with the ISS". NASASpaceFlight.com. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  19. ↑ "Demo-1 Underway: Crew Dragon Launches on Debut Flight". NASA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  20. ↑ Mission SpX-DM1 accomplished: the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has come back to Earth Massimo Luciani, Tachyon Beam March 8, 2019
  21. ↑ "Crew Dragon Lifted Onto Recovery Ship – Commercial Crew Program". NASA. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  22. ↑ Grush, Loren (22 February 2019). "NASA gives SpaceX the okay to launch new passenger spacecraft on uncrewed test flight". The Verge. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  23. ↑ Boyle, Alan (23 February 2019). "NASA, SpaceX and a test dummy are ready for Dragon 2's first trip to space station". GeekWire. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  24. ↑ Bartels, Meghan (March 2019). "Meet Ripley, SpaceX's Dummy Astronaut Riding on Crew Dragon Test Flight". Space.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
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