The Dragon Endeavour first flew Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on the Demo-2 mission for NASA in May of 2020.

The capsule returned human launch capability to NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program, which will serve U.S., Canadian, Japanese, and European astronauts as well as Russian cosmonauts.

During Demo-2, Bob and Doug named this Dragon in recognition of the Space Shuttle Endeavour - the ship that flew them both to space for the first time.

Like its namesake, Dragon Endeavour is designed for reuse and returned to Earth with Bob and Doug on August 2nd, 2020 - safely completing its first voyage after 65 days in space.

Dragon Vehicle Statistics

Total launches: 47

Visits to the ISS: 42

Total reflights: 26

Technical Specifications

Height: 8.1 m / 26.7 ft
Diameter: 4 m / 13 ft
Capsule volume: 9.3 m³ / 328 ft³
Trunk volume: 37 m³ / 1300 ft³
Launch Payload Mass: 6,000 kg / 13,228 lbs
Return Payload Mass: 3,000 kg / 6,614 lbs

The Crew Dragon spacecraft has carried 53 humans into orbit since May 2020

Dragon for crew

This SpaceX capsule is designed to carry a crew of four to the International Space Station or other Earth orbit destinations after being launched atop a reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

The capsule includes a launch abort system, an advanced environmental control and life support system that keeps the crew safe during flight, and state-of-the-art touchscreen interfaces.

Crew Dragon is designed to operate autonomously but can be manually controlled by SpaceX teams in Hawthorne, California, and the astronauts on board.

Under the contracted crew rotation missions to the Space Station for NASA, Dragon will carry a regular crew of 4 international astronauts.

Crew Dragon is also available for private missions to Earth orbit for paying customers.

For missions to the Station, Crew Dragon can remain in orbit for up to 6 months.

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

Stats

Total launches: 387

Total landings: 343

Total reflights: 318

The Falcon 9 has launched 52 humans into orbit since May 2020

Specs

Height: 70 m / 229.6 ft

Diameter: 3.7 m / 12 ft

Mass: 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb

Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb

Payload to Mars: 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb

On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 launched the first ride-share mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit. It was delivering a record-setting 143 satellites to space. And while this was an important mission for SpaceX in itself, it was also the moment Falcon 9 overtook United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V for the total number of consecutive successful launches.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had become America’s workhorse rocket, launching 31 times in 2021. It has already beaten that record this year, launching almost an average of once a week. While most of the launches deliver Starlink satellites to orbit, the company is still launching the most commercial payloads to orbit, too.

Falcon 9 is a medium-lift launch vehicle, with the capability to launch over 22.8 metric tonnes to low earth orbit. Unlike any other rocket, its first stage lands back on Earth after separating from its second stage. In part, this allows SpaceX to offer the cheapest option for most customers with payloads that need to reach orbit.

Under its ride-share program, a kilogram can be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit for a mere 1.1 million dollars, far cheaper than all other currently operating small satellite launch vehicles.

The reusability and fast booster turnaround times have made Falcon 9 the preferred choice for private companies and government agencies. This has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge portion of the launch market.

Protecting the Crew

On the launch pad, the crew will board Dragon prior to fueling of the rocket.

Dragon's abort system will be armed and ready to pull the crew away from Falcon 9 in the event a critical issue develops during fueling.

The launch to a 200 x 200 km orbit will take just under 9 minutes.

Dragon and its crew will then separate from the Falcon 9 second stage 11 minutes after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center.

Photo courtesy of Erik Kuna for Supercluster.

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is a historic launch site located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Originally constructed in the late 1960s, LC-39A was designed to support the Apollo program, including the groundbreaking Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the Moon in 1969. The pad also played a crucial role in launching Skylab missions and was instrumental during the Space Shuttle era, including the launch of the first Space Shuttle, Columbia, on STS-1 in 1981.

In 2014, SpaceX leased LC-39A from NASA and undertook extensive refurbishments to adapt the pad for its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. These upgrades involved significant modifications to the pad's infrastructure to meet the requirements of SpaceX’s rockets. Since then, LC-39A has become a vital launch site for SpaceX, supporting a range of missions including crewed flights under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Under SpaceX's management, LC-39A has been the site of several landmark events. It hosted the first Falcon 9 launch from the pad on March 30, 2017, and was the launch site for the historic Falcon Heavy debut on February 6, 2018, which was the most powerful rocket in operation at that time. Additionally, LC-39A was the launch site for the first crewed flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 30, 2020, marking the first crewed spaceflight from U.S. soil since the end of the Shuttle program.

Today, LC-39A remains a critical asset for SpaceX, supporting both crewed and uncrewed missions. It continues to serve as a launch site for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and is expected to play a central role in future missions, including those aimed at lunar exploration and beyond. The pad's rich history and ongoing significance highlight its importance in the broader context of space exploration.

Photo courtesy of Erik Kuna for Supercluster

"Of Course I Still Love You" (OCISLY) is one of SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships used to recover Falcon 9 rocket boosters from the ocean. Like its sister ships, "Just Read the Instructions" (JRTI) and "A Shortfall of Gravitas" (ASOG), OCISLY plays a crucial role in SpaceX’s reusability program, which aims to make spaceflight more cost-effective and sustainable.

The name "Of Course I Still Love You" is inspired by science fiction author Iain M. Banks' Culture series, known for its imaginative and whimsical ship names. This naming theme extends to SpaceX's other drone ships.

OCISLY originally operated in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It has since been retired and replaced by ASOG in the Atlantic, with its operations shifting to the Pacific Ocean.

Equipped with advanced navigation systems and thrusters for precise positioning, OCISLY featured a large landing platform designed for recovering rocket boosters at sea. It was instrumental in supporting missions where boosters couldn’t return to solid ground, enabling SpaceX to reuse rocket stages and contribute to lowering costs and improving the sustainability of space missions.