Dragon
SpaceX
Reusable cargo and crew spacecraft for ISS resupply and commercial human spaceflight missions.
Key figurescomparable across the catalogue
- Payload capacity
- 3,310 kg
Normalised to common units so this product can be compared with others in its category. The supplier's own wording is below.
As published by the supplier
- Crew capacity (Crew Dragon)
- Up to 4 astronauts
- Pressurized cargo capacity
- 3,310 kg (to ISS)
- Unpressurized cargo (trunk)
- 3,000 kg
- Launch vehicle
- Falcon 9
- Capsule diameter
- 4 m
- Reusability
- Yes — multiple reflights of capsule and trunk
- Recovery method
- Propulsive deceleration + parachute, ocean splashdown
About
Dragon is SpaceX’s reusable spacecraft, available in both cargo (Dragon Cargo) and crewed (Dragon Crew, also known as Crew Dragon) configurations. Launched atop Falcon 9, Dragon is the only currently operational spacecraft capable of returning significant amounts of cargo (up to 3,000 kg) from the International Space Station to Earth.
Cargo Dragon provides pressurized and unpressurized cargo delivery to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1 and CRS-2) contracts. It is equipped with a pressurized capsule, an unpressurized ‘trunk’ section for external payloads, and solar panels, and splashes down in the ocean for recovery after reentry.
Crew Dragon (Dragon 2) carries up to four astronauts and is certified for NASA’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) program. It has ferried astronauts to and from the ISS on numerous missions and supported private human spaceflight missions including SpaceX’s Inspiration4 (2021), the first all-civilian orbital flight, and Axiom Space missions.
Dragon’s reusable design — with individual capsules having flown multiple times — makes it one of the most frequently reused human-rated spacecraft in history.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.