Crew Dragon Demo-1
Names list
  • Crew Demo-1
  • SpaceX Demo-1
  • Demonstration Mission-1
OperatorSpaceX
Orbits completed62
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,055 kg (26,577 lb)
Dry mass6,350 kg (14,000 lb)
Launch date UTC (2:49:03 am EST)
Launch rocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1051-1)
Launch siteKennedy, LC‑39A
Recovery byMV GO Searcher
Landing date UTC[2]
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean
Orbit referenceGeocentric orbit
Orbit regimeLow Earth orbit
Orbit inclination51.66°
Apsisgee
InsigniaCrew Dragon Demo-1.png
ProgrammeCommercial Crew Development
Previous missionDragon PAT
Next missionBoeing PAT
Programme 2Crew Dragon flights
Previous mission 2Pad Abort Test
Next mission 2In-Flight Abort Test
Crew Dragon Demo-1
Docking targetISS
dock3 March 2019, 10:51 UTC
Docking portHarmony forward [1]
Undocking date8 March 2019, 07:32 UTC

Crew Dragon Demo-1 (officially Crew Demo-1, SpaceX Demo-1, or Demonstration Mission-1)[a] 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 with a 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 to be re-used 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 docked with the ISS on 3 March 2019 at 10:51 UTC.[18][19]

The Dragon 2 spacecraft 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 about 180 kg (400 lb) of supplies and equipment including a "super high tech zero-g indicator" (a plush toy).[22][23][24][1] 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. ^ "NASA, SpaceX Launch First Flight Test of Space System Designed for Crew". nasa.gov. NASA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Commercial Crew Program American Rockets American Spacecraft American Soil". nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Space Exploration Technologies Corp. WF9XGI 0068-EX-ST-2019 FCC Experimental License". FCC. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "February 6, 2019 – Commercial Crew Program". NASA. 6 February 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. ^ SpaceX #CrewDragon Demonstration Flight Return to Earth. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "Crew Dragon's inaugural flight to Station concludes with splashdown". NASASpaceFlight.com. 8 March 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Berger, Eric (April 22, 2019). "Here's what we know, and what we don't, about the Crew Dragon accident". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  8. ^ Foust, Jeff (February 4, 2016). "SpaceX seeks to accelerate Falcon 9 production and launch rates this year". SpaceNews. Retrieved March 21, 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 (January 5, 2019). "Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon vertical at Launch Complex 39A". SpaceFlight Insider. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  10. ^ "First SpaceX commercial crew test flight could slip to 2019". SpaceNews. October 3, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "SpaceX delays commercial crew test flights to latter half of 2018". SpaceNews. January 11, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "Report warns of additional commercial crew delays". SpaceNews. September 6, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "NASA Invites Media to SpaceX Demo-1 Launch". NASA. November 21, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "SpaceX Demo-1 Launch Update". NASA Commercial Crew Program Blog. NASA. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  15. ^ Clark, Stephen. "Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in key test ahead of Crew Dragon demo flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Ralph, Eric (February 28, 2019). "SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 head to Pad 39A for historic launch debut". Teslarati. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  17. ^ Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX's Crew Dragon rolls out for test flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  18. ^ "Crew Dragon successfully conducts debut docking with the ISS". NASASpaceFlight.com. 3 March 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  19. ^ "Demo-1 Underway: Crew Dragon Launches on Debut Flight". NASA. 2 March 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  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 April 12, 2019.
  22. ^ Grush, Loren (February 22, 2019). "NASA gives SpaceX the okay to launch new passenger spacecraft on uncrewed test flight". The Verge. Retrieved February 23, 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 February 28, 2019.
  24. ^ Bartels, Meghan (March 2019). "Meet Ripley, SpaceX's Dummy Astronaut Riding on Crew Dragon Test Flight". Space.com. Retrieved March 1, 2019.