page_title: SpaceX Dragon 2
section_title: Development and variants
hierarchical_section_title: SpaceX Dragon 2 / Development and variants
caption_attribution_description: English: Crew Dragon Section Views
context_page_description: The SpaceX Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX as the successor to Dragon, a reusable cargo spacecraft. It has two variants: Crew Dragon, a space capsule capable of ferrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and returns to Earth via an ocean splashdown. Unlike its predecessor, the spacecraft can dock itself to the ISS instead of being berthed. Crew Dragon is equipped with an integrated launch escape system capable of accelerating the vehicle away from the rocket in an emergency at 11.8 m/s², accomplished by using a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each. The spacecraft features redesigned solar arrays and a modified outer mold line compared to the original Dragon, and possesses new flight computers and avionics. As of March 2020, four Dragon 2 spacecraft have been manufactured.
context_section_description: There are two variants: Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon. Crew Dragon was initially called "DragonRider" and it was intended from the beginning to support a crew of seven or a combination of crew and cargo. It is able to perform fully autonomous rendezvous and docking with manual override ability, using the NASA Docking System (NDS). For typical missions, Crew Dragon will remain docked to the ISS for a period of 180 days, but is designed to remain on the station for up to 210 days, matching the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. From the beginning of the development process, SpaceX planned to use an integrated pusher launch escape system for the Dragon spacecraft.
caption: Crew Dragon Section Views
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