Crew Dragon Endeavour

Crew Dragon Endeavour is a Crew Dragon spacecraft C206 manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. It was launched into orbit on top of a Falcon 9 rocket on 30 May 2020 and successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on 31 May 2020 as part of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. It was the first crewed flight test of Dragon capsule, carrying Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken. It is the spacecraft used in the first crewed orbital spaceflight from the United States since STS-135 in July 2011 and the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company. As of June 2020, the spacecraft is docked to the ISS. It is expected to return to Earth in August.[1] The spacecraft was named by Hurley and Behnken after the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the spacecraft the both of them first flew on, respectively on missions STS-127 and STS-123.

Crew Dragon Endeavour
Endeavour at Cape Canaveral in April 2020
Type Spacecraft
Manufacturer SpaceX
Construction number C206
First flight 30 May 2020
(Crew Dragon Demo-2)
Total hours 697h
Status Docked to ISS

History

After the success of Crew Dragon Demo-1 using Crew Dragon C201, that spacecraft was originally planned to be used for the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test. But on 20 April 2019, Crew Dragon C201 was destroyed in an explosion during static fire testing at the Landing Zone 1 facility.[2][3] On the day of the explosion, the initial testing of the Crew Dragon's Draco thrusters was successful, with the accident occurring during the test of the SuperDraco abort system.[4] Crew Dragon C205, then slated to be used for the Demo-2 mission, was subsequently used for the in-flight abort test. Endeavour, then, was assigned to the Demo-2 mission, replacing Crew Dragon C205. On 17 April 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the date first crewed Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station to be on 27 May 2020.[5] According to SpaceX, Endeavour has undergone electromagnetic interference testing and completed acoustic testing on February 2020.[6][7] In early April 2020, the spacecraft was in SpaceX's processing facility at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida to undergo final processing and testing in preparation for the Demo-2 launch.[8] It was then transported to Kennedy Space Center, arriving at the Launch Complex 39A on 15 May 2020. The spacecraft then was placed on top a Falcon 9 rocket and was rolled out onto the launch pad on 21 May 2020 with static fire testing completed the next day.[9]

Endeavour approaches the ISS during the Demo-2 mission.

Crew Dragon Endeavour, name still unannounced, was successfully launched on top of a Falcon 9 rocket on 30 May 2020 after the scrub of the first attempt due to the weather conditions.[10][11] Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley crewed the Demo-2 mission, marking the first crewed launch to the International Space Station from the United States since STS-135 in July 2011. The mission was intended to complete the validation of crewed spaceflight operations using SpaceX hardware.[12] If successful, the demonstration flight will allow for human-rating certification of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the Falcon 9 rocket, the crew transportation system, the launch pad, and SpaceX's capabilities. Spending 19 hours in orbit approaching the ISS, Hurley demonstrated the ability to pilot the spacecraft via its touchscreen controls until it reached a distance of 220 metres (720 ft) from the ISS docking ports at which point they let the automated docking program take over. Endeavour docked with the ISS on 31 May 2020.[13][14][15] Hurley and Behnken joined the ISS Expedition 63 crew, which consists of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoli Ivanishin.[16] Benkhen and Hurley launched to the ISS for an indeterminate time frame, depending on Endeavour's solar array degradation, the status of Crew Dragon C207, and landing zone weather.[17]

NASA originally planned Demo-2 as a short test flight lasting about two weeks, but NASA chose to extend the mission to address the shortfall of crew in the ISS.[18] According to Ken Bowersox, acting administrator for NASA's human spaceflight program, the spacecraft is "doing very well" and NASA now plans to bring the crew and Endeavour home in late July or early August.[17] When Endeavour returns, will journey through a fast fiery descent of Earth's atmosphere and will be slowed down by the capsule's suite of parachutes. It will land on the Atlantic Ocean, where a SpaceX recovery boat will take the crew and spacecraft back to shore.[13] In a video tour of the spacecraft shortly after the launch, Benkhen and Hurley revealed the Endeavour name after the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the spacecraft the both of them first flew on, respectively on missions STS-127 and STS-123 to recognize the "incredible endeavor" that SpaceX and NASA have taken. Additionally, each crew member brought along a toy from their family: in this case an Apatosaurus dinosaur named "Tremor", a sequined plush dinosaur toy, and a Ty flippables plush toy, continuing the tradition for astronauts to bring a plush toy or trinket aboard their spacecraft to serve as a zero-gravity indicator when weightlessness kicks in during spaceflight.[19] Days after the successful launch, NASA gave SpaceX approval to reuse flight-proven spacecraft, indicating Endeavour may be potentially reused.[20]

Flights

Endeavour was flown in space on the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission on 30 May 2020 and is currently docked to the ISS. The spacecraft was rated to spend 119 days in orbit, having less capability than the full production Crew Dragon which is capable of staying in space for up to 210 days.[21] After NASA gave SpaceX's approval to reuse flight-proven spacecraft, it is unknown whether Endeavour would be flown again.[20]

Mission Patch Launch date (UTC) Crew Remarks Outcome
SpaceX-DM2 30 May 2020, 19:22:45
It is the first crewed flight test of Dragon capsule, first crewed orbital spaceflight from US soil since STS-135 in July 2011, of which Hurley was pilot, and the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company. Flight extended from two weeks in order to allow the crew to bolster activity on the ISS ahead of Crew-1.[1] Docked to ISS

See also

References
  1. Clark, Stephen (9 June 2020). "NASA anticipates August return for Hurley and Behnken". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. @JimBridenstine (20 April 2019). "NASA has been notified about the results of the @SpaceX Static Fire Test and the anomaly that occurred during the final test. We will work closely to ensure we safely move forward with our Commercial Crew Program" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. Mosher, Dave. "SpaceX confirmed that its Crew Dragon spaceship for NASA was 'destroyed' by a recent test. Here's what we learned about the explosive failure". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  4. Shanklin, Emily (15 July 2019). "UPDATE: IN-FLIGHT ABORT STATIC FIRE TEST ANOMALY INVESTIGATION". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  5. @JimBridenstine (17 April 2020). "BREAKING: On May 27, @NASA will once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil! With our @SpaceX partners, @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken will launch to the @Space_Station on the #CrewDragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Let's #LaunchAmerica 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RINb3mfRWI" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. @SpaceX (11 February 2020). "The Crew Dragon spacecraft that will fly @NASA astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug to and from the @Space_Station undergoing electromagnetic interference testin" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. @SpaceX (16 February 2020). "Crew Dragon completes acoustic testing in Florida" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20200411-PH-SPX01_0003 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. Wall, Mike (21 May 2020). "SpaceX's 1st Dragon capsule for astronauts arrives at launch site for historic mission". space.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  10. Thompson, Amy (30 May 2020). "Liftoff! SpaceX launches 1st astronauts for NASA on historic test flight". Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. Roulette, Joey (30 May 2020). "NASA resumes human spaceflight from U.S. soil with historic SpaceX launch". Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  12. Etherington, Darrell (1 May 2020). "SpaceX and NASA break down what their historic first astronaut mission will look like". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  13. Grush, Loren (30 May 2020). "SpaceX successfully launches first crew to orbit, ushering in new era of spaceflight". The Verge. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  14. "NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station after Dragon capsule successfully docks". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  15. Wattles, Jackie (31 May 2020). "Second hatch opens as Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at International Space Station". CNN. Warner Media, LLC. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  16. "SpaceX and Nasa set to launch astronauts after weather all-clear". Express & Star. 30 May 2020.
  17. Thompson, Amy (10 June 2020). "SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship to bring NASA astronauts home this summer". Teslarati. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  18. Foust, Jeff (9 June 2020). "Crew Dragon likely to support extended space station stay". SpaceNews. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. Boyle, Alan (30 May 2020). "Crew Dragon's astronauts give their SpaceX spaceship a storied name: Endeavour". GeekWire. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. Ralph, Eric (9 June 2020). "SpaceX wins NASA approval to launch astronauts on reused rockets and spacecraft". Teslarati. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  21. Weitering, Hanneke (5 May 2020). "How long will the 1st astronauts to ride SpaceX's Crew Dragon be in space? No one knows exactly (yet)". Space.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
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