What is the purpose of SpaceX Crew Dragon?

The SpaceX Dragon was a class of partially reusable cargo spaceship built by SpaceX, an American private space transportation corporation. It was also known as Dragon 1 or Cargo Dragon. The purpose of SpaceX crew Dragon was  to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon 2 from SpaceX has already taken its place.

History of SpaceX Dragon

The Crew Dragon was designed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. It was created as part of Nasa’s ambition to give American firms control of space station launches after years of depending on Russian missions. Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about the vehicle.

The entrepreneur’s goal came true on Saturday, May 30, 2020, when Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were launched into orbit by the Crew Dragon spacecraft for a rendezvous with the International Space Station, or ISS. It was the first crewed vehicle to fly from US soil since the shuttle’s retirement in 2011.

The Purpose of SpaceX Crew Dragon

According to SpaceX engineer John Federspiel, the corporation intended Crew Dragon to “feel like a 21st-century spaceship.”

We created them not just to be very functional, but also to provide a positive user experience”. The three huge touchscreen displays that allow the commander and pilot to monitor and control the spaceship are a far cry from the analogue buttons and dials in prior vehicles like the space shuttle’s cockpits.

Hurley and Behnken, as the first humans to ride aboard Crew Dragon, worked closely with SpaceX to prepare the spacecraft ready for its historic flight in May 2020. The crew members, both of whom had previously flown on the shuttle, were invaluable contributors.

Read: Anna Kikina: 1st Russian to Ride Dragon Capsule on SpaceX Crew-5 Mission

Details regarding Suit-Seat System

One of the most talked purpose of SpaceX Crew Dragon has been the astronauts’ space suits. The elegant, custom-made ensembles are a stark departure to prior looks. Their essential role, however, remains the same: to protect crew members against depressurization, which occurs when the capsule loses air.

Crew Dragon has three distinct seat sizes, each with foam that is moulded around the astronaut’s body to make the trip to and from orbit as comfortable as possible.

When the astronaut is ready, they connect a “umbilical” line from their seat to a port on the right thigh of their space suit. The umbilical connects the suit’s life support systems to the outside world, such as air and electrical connections.

How Crew Dragon spacecraft landed to earth?

The Crew Dragon rocket takes off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on a modified version of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The launch escape system will operate in the case of an emergency on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit, propelling the capsule and its crew away from the rocket. The astronauts are then safely brought down using parachutes. In most cases, Hurley claims, the capsule architecture is safer than a winged vehicle.

“Two-fault tolerant” is another feature of Crew Dragon. This means that even if two things fail, like as a flight computer and a thruster, the spaceship will still be able to safely return the crew to Earth. During flights to the International Space Station, the SpaceX rocket docks with the orbiting outpost without the need for human guidance. 

The flight computer then utilises algorithms to determine how to use the thrusters in order to get to the docking target as quickly as possible. Because of the vehicle’s solar panels, which degrade in the harsh environment of space, its lifetime in orbit is limited to a few months.

How Crew Dragon spacecraft returns from earth?

Crew Dragon undocks and then performs a de-orbit burn with its engines when astronauts are ready to return home from the space station.

As the craft rushes through the atmosphere at up to 25 times the speed of sound, the vehicle’s heat shield, placed at its base, must withstand temperatures higher than the Sun’s surface.

The heat shield’s substance is ablative, meaning it progressively burns away at high temperatures, allowing much of the severe heat to escape. The spacecraft’s asymmetric architecture, which is controlled by the location of its emergency escape system, has a small possibility of causing it to roll too much. Elon Musk has stated that the issue of roll instability has been thoroughly researched, but that it still concerns him.

“I believe there’s a case to be made that the descent is in some respects more risky than the rise,” Musk argues.

The spacecraft must next deploy four parachutes to slow its descent after the fiery re-entry phase.

Conclusion

Finally, the Crew Dragon lands 450 kilometres off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean, where recovery ships will transport the astronauts to safety and collect the capsule.

After that, the spacecraft can be refurbished. Nasa has agreed to allow people to travel on re-used Crew Dragons – and Falcon 9 rockets – once SpaceX completes its third human mission to the International Space Station.

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