Dragon C106

Dragon C106
C106 in flight in June 2017, during CRS-11.
TypeCargo space capsule
ClassSpaceX Dragon
OwnerSpaceX
ManufacturerSpaceX
Specifications
Dimensions6.1 m × 3.7 m (20 ft × 12 ft)
Dry mass4,201 kilograms (9,262 lb)
PowerSolar arrays
RocketFalcon 9
History
First flight
Last flight
Flights3
FateRetired
SpaceX Dragons
← C105
C107 →

SpaceX Dragon C106 is a Dragon space capsule built by SpaceX.[1] It is the first reused SpaceX Dragon capsule to be reflown into space, having its second launch in 2017.[2] C106 was first used on CRS-4, and then used again for the CRS-11 and CRS-19 missions.[3] It was the second capsule after C108 to be used a third time, marking a milestone in SpaceX's drive to reduce space launch costs through reusing hardware.[4]

History

C106 was built as the sixth production Dragon capsule.[5] This new Dragon was launched in September 2014 for the CRS-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It splashed down in October 2014, and was successfully retrieved.[6][7] To prepare for its second flight, it had its heatshield replaced while the hull, avionics, and Draco thrusters were refurbished.[8] The refurbished Dragon was relaunched in June 2017 for the CRS-11 mission to the ISS.[9][4] It splashed down and was successfully recovered in July 2017.[10] After undergoing another refurbishment, C106 was launched again for the CRS-19 mission.

Flights

C106 flights[1][5]
Flight # Mission Launch date (UTC) Landing date (UTC) Liftoff Landing Notes
1 NASA CRS-4 21 September 2014 25 October 2014 [11]
2 NASA CRS-11 3 June 2017 3 July 2017 This was the 100th launch from Launch Pad 39A [1][12][10]
3 NASA CRS-19 5 December 2019 7 January 2020 [13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c William Graham (1 June 2017). "Weather halts Falcon 9 mission with CRS-11 Dragon on 100th 39A launch". NASAspaceflight.com.
  2. ^ "SpaceX To Launch Reused Dragon Capsule, Land Falcon 9 At Kennedy Space Center". Brevard Times. 17 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  3. ^ Hanneke Weitering (1 June 2017). "SpaceX to Launch 1st Reused Dragon Spacecraft Saturday: Watch It Live". Space.com.
  4. ^ a b Dana Hull; Andrea Wong (3 June 2017). "SpaceX Ferries Supplies to Orbiting Station in Reused Capsule". Bloomberg.
  5. ^ a b "First SpaceX Dragon Re-Use Mission Grounded until Saturday by Unsettled Weather". Spaceflight 101. 1 June 2017.
  6. ^ "SpaceX Completes CRS-4 Mission for NASA". SpaceX. 4 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  7. ^ "CRS-11 Dragon Resupply Mission" (PDF). SpaceX. June 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
  8. ^ Emre Kelly (31 May 2017). "SpaceX, NASA ready for Falcon 9 launch with refurbished Dragon". Florida Today.
  9. ^ "SpaceX launches Chinese experiment, other supplies to space station". Xinhua. 4 June 2017. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Derek Richardson (3 July 2017). "Dragon Splashes Down in Pacific With Time-Critical Experiments". Spaceflight Insider.
  11. ^ "Dragon SpX-4 Mission Updates". Spaceflight101: Space News and Beyond. October 25, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "SpaceX launches ISS supply rocket". DPA. Sky News Australia. 4 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  13. ^ "SpaceX". SpaceX. Retrieved 2020-06-10.