dragon capsule spacex 101207c 02

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INSIDE SPRCEX’B DRnCDN

Developed for NASA to service the International Space Station, the reusable Dragon capsule is lofted into orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. While the first flights are to carry cargo only, the capsule was designed to be capable of carrying up to seven astronauts.

SPACEX'S FALCON 9 ROCKET

ABOVE: THE SECOND STAGE OF THE FALCON 9 BOOSTER FIRES ITS ROCKET TO PUT DRAGON INTO EARTH ORBIT

HE AT SHIELD

INTERNAL CARGO STORAGE

DOCKING HATCH

MANEUVERING THRUSTERS —

CREW VERSION IN DEVELOPMENT

WoukJ transport up to seven astronauts

Space capsules compared

TO SCALĘ. SOLAR PAN ELS (IFANY) NOT SHOWN

NOSE CAP

Discarded after the vehicle leaves Earth's atmosphere

TRUNK

The unpres-surized rear section holds up to 490 cubic feet (14 cubic meters) of

APOLLO CSM 1968-1975

DRAGON SPACECRAFT

Pressurized capsule carries up to 245 cubic feet (7 cubic meters) of cargo. The crew-carrying Dragon will be virtually identical.

SOYUZ

1967-PRESENT

SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER 1981-2011

t

	Dragon	Progress Ml	Shenzhou	Cygnus	ATV	Orion
Builder	SpaceX	RSC Energia	China	Orbital Sciences ESA		Lockheed Martin
First launch	2010	2000	1999	TBD	2008	TBD
Launch vehicle	Falcon 9	Soyuz FG	Changzheng 2F	Taurus 2	Ariane 5	TBD
Length overall	20.4 ft (6.2 m)	24 ft (7.3 m)	30 ft (9.25 m)	10 ft (3 m)	35.1 ft (10.7 m)	26 ft (8 m)
Liftoff weight	26,460 Ib (12,000 kg)	15,985 Ib (7,250 kg)	16,760 Ib (7,600 kg)	TBD	45,750 Ib (20,750 kg)	46,848 Ib 21,250 kg
Payload to Low Earth Orbit	13,228 Ib (6,000 kg)	4,920 Ib (2,230 kg)	unknown	4,410 Ib (2000 kg)	16,900 Ib (7,670 kg)	TBD
TBD = to be determined
SOURCES: SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES, NASA, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY					KARL TATĘ, SPACE.com