Engineering:SpaceX Dragon C108
Dragon capsule C108 | |
---|---|
C108 inflight during the CRS-18 mission | |
Role | Space capsule Cargo spacecraft |
National origin | United States |
Type | Dragon CRS cargo capsule |
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Construction number | C108 |
First flight | CRS-6 (4 April 2015 -- 21 May 2015) |
Last flight | CRS-18 (25 July 2019 – 27 August 2019) |
Flights | 3 |
The 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. This third reuse of the spacecraft marks a milestone in SpaceX's drive to reduce space launch costs through reusing hardware.
Spacecraft 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]
Flight history
References
- ↑ "Dragon C2, CRS-1,... CRS-20 (SpX 1,... 20)". https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dragon.htm.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ "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/.