Engineering:Dragon C108

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Short description: Uncrewed cargo spacecraft built by SpaceX
Dragon C108
ISS-60 SpaceX CRS-18 Dragon approaches the ISS (1).jpg
C108 in flight in July 2019, during CRS-18.
TypeCargo space capsule
ClassSpaceX Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Technical details
Dimensions6.1 m × 3.7 m (20 ft × 12 ft)
Dry mass4,201 kilograms (9,262 lb)
PowerSolar arrays
Flight history
First flightSpaceX CRS-6
4 April – 21 May 2015
Last flightSpaceX CRS-18
25 July 2019 – 27 August 2019
Flights3
FateRetired

SpaceX Dragon C108 is a Cargo Dragon space capsule built by SpaceX. It is the first Dragon capsule to be flown three times, having its third launch in 2019. C108 was first used on CRS-6, and then used again for the CRS-13 and CRS-18 missions. It was the first capsule to be used a third flight, marking a milestone in SpaceX's drive to reduce space launch costs through reusing hardware.

History

C108 was built as the eighth production Dragon capsule.[1] This new Dragon was launched on the CRS-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It splashed down on May 21, 2015 and was successfully retrieved. To prepare for its second flight, it had its heatshield replaced while the hull, avionics, and Draco thrusters were refurbished.[2] The refurbished Dragon was relaunched in December 15, 2017 for the CRS-13 mission. Following an almost month-long stay, C108 landed on January 13, 2018.[3] After undergoing another refurbishment, C108 was launched again in July 2019 for the CRS-18 mission. It landed for the final time on August 27, 2019 and was retired.[4]

Flights

C108 flights
Flight # Mission Launch date (UTC) Landing date (UTC) Liftoff Notes
1 SpaceX CRS-6 Patch.png NASA CRS-6 14 April 2015,

20:10:41

21 May 2015,

16:42

Launch of Falcon 9 carrying CRS-6 Dragon (17170624642).jpg [5][6]
2
Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 12.5 MP
NASA CRS-13 15 December 2017, 15:36:09 13 January 2018, 15:37 KSC-20171215-PH AWG03 0015 (38365698174).jpg [7][8]
3 SpaceX CRS-18 Patch.png NASA CRS-18 25 July 2019,

22:01

27 August 2019, 20:20
CRS-18 Mission (48380370691).jpg
First third flight of a Dragon Capsule[9] [9][10]

References

  1. "Dragon C2, CRS-1,... CRS-20 (SpX 1,... 20)". https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dragon.htm. 
  2. Clark, Stephen. "Test-firing at repaired launch pad clears way for SpaceX cargo flight next week – Spaceflight Now" (in en-US). https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/06/test-firing-at-repaired-launch-pad-clears-way-for-spacex-cargo-flight-next-week/. 
  3. Clark, Stephen. "Commercial cargo craft splashes down in Pacific Ocean after station resupply run – Spaceflight Now" (in en-US). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/13/commercial-cargo-craft-splashes-down-in-pacific-ocean-after-station-resupply-run/. 
  4. "CRS-18 Dragon completes mission with Pacific Ocean Splashdown" (in en-US). 2019-08-27. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/08/crs-18-iss-pacific-ocean-splashdown/. 
  5. "SpaceX CRS-6" (in en-US). https://www.issnationallab.org/launches/spacex-crs-6/. 
  6. Bergin, Chris (2015-05-21). "SpaceX Dragon completes CRS-6 mission with splashdown" (in en-US). https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/05/crs-6-dragon-departs-iss-homecoming/. 
  7. Clark, Stephen. "SpaceX's 50th Falcon rocket launch kicks off station resupply mission" (in en-US). https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/15/spacexs-50th-falcon-rocket-launch-kicks-off-station-resupply-mission/. 
  8. Clark, Stephen. "Commercial cargo craft splashes down in Pacific Ocean after station resupply run" (in en-US). https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/13/commercial-cargo-craft-splashes-down-in-pacific-ocean-after-station-resupply-run/. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 Clark, Stephen. "New docking port, spacesuit and supplies en route to space station" (in en-US). https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/07/25/new-docking-port-spacesuit-and-supplies-en-route-to-space-station/. 
  10. Bergin, Chris (2019-08-27). "CRS-18 Dragon completes mission with Pacific Ocean Splashdown" (in en-US). https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/08/crs-18-iss-pacific-ocean-splashdown/. 

External links