Cargo Dragon C209


Dragon C209 is the second Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, and the second in a line of International Space Station resupply craft which replaced the Dragon capsule, manufactured by SpaceX. The missions are contracted by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. It was being flown for the first time on the CRS-22 mission on 3 June 2021. This was the second flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016. This was also the second time a Cargo Dragon was docked at the same time as a Crew Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX Crew-2. This mission used a new Booster B1067.1.

Cargo Dragon

C209 is the second SpaceX Dragon 2 cargo variant. C209 and the other Cargo Dragons are different from the crewed variant by launching without seats, cockpit controls, astronaut life support systems, or SuperDraco abort engines. The Cargo Dragon improved on many aspects of the original Dragon design, including the recovery and refurbishment process.
The new Cargo Dragon capsules splash down under parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida or in the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. This NASA preference was added to all CRS-2 awards to allow for cargo to be more quickly returned to the Kennedy Space Center after splashdown.

Flights

MissionPatchLaunch date DurationLanding date NotesOutcome
CRS-223 June 2021
17:29:15
36 days10 July 2021
03:29
Second time Dragon 2 was used for a CRS mission, Second launch of phase 2 of CRS missions, Second time a Cargo Dragon and Crew Dragon were docked to the ISS at the same time.
CRS-2421 December 2021
10:07:08
34 days24 January 2022
21:05
Fourth time Dragon 2 used for a CRS mission, fourth launch of phase 2 of CRS missions
CRS-2715 March 2023 00:3031 days15 April 2023, 20:58 UTCSeventh time Dragon 2 will be used for a CRS mission, Seventh launch of phase 2 of CRS missions
CRS-3021 March 2024 20:5539 days30 April 2024 05:38Tenth time Dragon 2 was used for a CRS mission, tenth launch of phase 2 of CRS missions
CRS-3221 April 2025 08:1533 days25 May 2025 05:4412° time Dragon 2 was used for a CRS mission, 12° launch of phase 2 of CRS missions