SpaceX Crew Dragon | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 27/03/2019

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_2


00:02:27 1 Development and variants
00:05:46 2 Technical specifications
00:10:46 2.1 Space suit
00:11:17 3 Planned space transport missions
00:13:41 3.1 Crewed flights contracted to NASA
00:14:39 4 Flight testing
00:14:48 4.1 Abort and hover tests
00:19:18 4.2 Orbital flight tests
00:21:10 5 List of missions
00:21:28 6 See also
00:21:46 6.1 Other crewed orbital spacecraft



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SUMMARY
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Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, conceived as the successor to the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft are designed for launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and a splashdown return. In comparison to its predecessor, it has larger windows, new flight computers and avionics, redesigned solar arrays, and a modified outer mold line. The spacecraft is used in two variants – Crew Dragon, a human-rated capsule capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon. Cargo Dragon capsules are repurposed flown Crew Dragon capsules. Crew Dragon is uniquely equipped with a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each, which serve as a launch escape system. Both variants have been contracted for use with logistical operations of the International Space Station (ISS) under Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS2) and the Commercial Crew Program.
Development on Dragon 2 began as DragonRider in 2010, when NASA began searching for private operators for crewed flights to the ISS under the Commercial Crew Development program. Its design was publicly unveiled in May 2014, and in October 2014 was selected alongside Boeing's CST-100 Starliner to be developed for flight under the program. Considered by NASA as the least expensive option, US$2.6 billion was awarded to SpaceX to continue development of the spacecraft, in contrast to the US$4.2 billion awarded to Boeing. Crew Dragon's first non-piloted test flight to the ISS launched in March 2019, and its first crewed flight to the ISS is planned to occur in July 2019. Cargo Dragon was also selected in January 2016 alongside Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems' Cygnus and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser for cargo delivery flights under CRS2 contracts. SpaceX's initial CRS2 mission with the Cargo Dragon is slated to occur in August 2020 after SpaceX's final CRS mission with the original Dragon spacecraft, which is expected to launch no earlier than January 2020.