page_title: List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
section_title: COTS demo missions
hierarchical_section_title: List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches / Notable launches / COTS demo missions
caption_attribution_description: English: On December 8, 2010, the Dragon spacecraft landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, making it the first commercial spacecraft to successfully return from orbit. Dragon rests on a barge as it makes the trip back to shore.
context_page_description: Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 95 times, with 93 full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of spacecraft. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad in the fueling process before a static fire test.
  Designed and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1, and v1.2 "Full Thrust", along with the currently active Block 5 evolution. Falcon Heavy is a heavy-lift derivative of Falcon 9, combining a strengthened central core with two Falcon 9 first stages as side boosters.
  The Falcon design features reusable first-stage boosters, which land either on a ground pad near the launch site or on a drone ship at sea. In December 2015, Falcon 9 became the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload to orbit. This achievement is expected to significantly reduce launch costs. Falcon family core boosters have successfully landed 69 times in 69 attempts. A total of 24 boosters have flown multiple missions, with a record of six missions by the same booster.
context_section_description: The second launch of Falcon 9 was COTS Demo Flight 1 testing an operational Dragon capsule. The launch took place on 8 December 2010. The booster placed the Dragon spacecraft in a roughly 300-kilometer (190 mi) orbit. After two orbits, the capsule re-entered the atmosphere to be recovered off the coast of Mexico. This flight tested the pressure vessel integrity, attitude control using the Draco thrusters, telemetry, guidance, navigation, control systems, and the PICA-X heat shield, and intended to test the parachutes at speed. The "secret" test payload on this mission was a wheel of cheese. The capsule is now on display at SpaceX headquarters.
  The NASA COTS qualification program included two more test flights; Demo 2 and Demo 3 whose objectives were combined into a single Dragon C2+ mission, on the condition that all Demo 2 milestones would be validated in space before proceeding with the ultimate demonstration goal: berthing Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) and delivering its cargo. After clearing a few readiness delays and a launch abort, the Dragon capsule was propelled to orbit on May 22, 2012, and tested its positioning system, solar panels, grapple fixture and proximity navigation sensors. Over the next two days, the spacecraft performed a series of maneuvers to catch up to the ISS orbit and prove its rendezvous capabilities at safe distances. On May 24, all the Demo 2 milestones had been successfully cleared and NASA approved the extended mission. On May 25, Dragon performed a series of close approach maneuvers until reaching its final hold position a mere 9 meters (30 ft) away from the Harmony nadir docking port. Astronaut Don Pettit subsequently grabbed the spacecraft with the station's robotic arm. On the next day, May 26 at 09:53 UTC, Pettit opened the hatch and remarked that Dragon "smells like a brand new car." Over the next few days, ISS crew unloaded the incoming cargo and filled Dragon with Earth-bound items such as experiment samples and unneeded hardware. The spacecraft was released on May 31 at 09:49 UTC and successfully completed all the return procedures: unberthing, maneuvering away from the ISS, deorbit burn, trunk jettison, atmospheric reentry, parachute deployment, and ocean splashdown. The Dragon C2+ capsule is now on display at Kennedy Space Center.
  With successful completion of these demo missions, Falcon 9 became the first fully commercially developed launcher to deliver a payload to the International Space Station, paving the way for SpaceX and NASA to sign the first Commercial Resupply Services agreement for 12 cargo deliveries starting in October 2012.
caption: COTS-1 Dragon after return from orbit
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