A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule that can be used to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, such as an impending explosion. The LES is typically controlled by a combination of automatic rocket failure detection, and a manual activation for the crew commander's use. The LES may be used while the launch vehicle is still on the launch pad, or during its ascent. Such systems are usually of two types:
The SpaceX Draco is a hypergolic liquid rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX for use in their space capsules. Two engine types have been built to date: Draco and SuperDraco.
The Boeing CST-100Starliner is a class of two partially reusable spacecraft designed to transport crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. It is manufactured by Boeing for its participation in NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The spacecraft consists of a reusable crew capsule and an expendable service module.
SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, also known as Dragon C2+, was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft. It launched in May 2012 on the third flight of the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The flight was performed under a funded agreement from NASA as the second Dragon demonstration mission in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The purpose of the COTS program is to develop and demonstrate commercial sources for cargo re-supply of the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon C2+ spacecraft was the first American vehicle to visit the ISS since the end of the Space Shuttle program. It was also the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with another spacecraft.
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Inspiration4 and Axiom Mission 1. There are two variants: Crew Dragon, a spacecraft capable of ferrying four crew, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon 1. The spacecraft consists of a reuseable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and the capsule returns to Earth via splashdown.
SuperDraco is a hypergolic propellant rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX. It is part of the SpaceX Draco family of rocket engines. A redundant array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for use as a launch escape system for the SpaceX Dragon 2, a passenger-carrying space capsule.
Crew Dragon Demo-1 was the first orbital test of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. This first spaceflight was an uncrewed mission that launched on 2 March 2019 at 07:49:03 UTC, and arrived at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019, a little over 24 hours after the launch. The mission ended following a successful splashdown on 8 March 2019 at 13:45:08 UTC.
Crew Dragon Demo-2 was the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named Endeavour, launched on 30 May 2020 on a Falcon 9 booster, and carried NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station in the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011, and the first ever operated by a commercial provider. Demo-2 was also the first two-person orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since STS-4 in 1982. Demo-2 completed the validation of crewed spaceflight operations using SpaceX hardware and received human-rating certification for the spacecraft, including astronaut testing of Crew Dragon capabilities on orbit.
SpaceX Crew-1 was the first operational crewed flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft. It was also the second crewed orbital flight launch by the United States since that of STS-135 in July 2011. Resilience launched on 16 November 2020 at 00:27:17 UTC on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), carrying NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker along with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all members of the Expedition 64 crew. The mission was the second overall crewed orbital flight of the Crew Dragon.
SpaceXCrew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test was a successful test of the SpaceX Dragon 2 abort system, conducted on 19 January 2020. It was the final assessment for the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 launch system before they would be certified to carry humans into space. Booster B1046.4 and an uncrewed capsule C205 were launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) on a suborbital trajectory, followed by an in-flight abort of the capsule at max Q and supersonic speed. The test was carried out successfully: the capsule pulled itself away from the booster before it broke apart, and landed safely.
SpaceX CRS-21, also known as SpX-21, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station which launched on 6 December 2020. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX using a Cargo Dragon 2. This was the first flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016. This was also the first Cargo Dragon of the new Dragon 2 variant, as well as the first Cargo Dragon flight that was docked at the same time as a Crew Dragon spacecraft. This mission used Booster B1058.4, becoming the first NASA mission to reuse a booster previously used on a non-NASA mission. This was also first time SpaceX launched a NASA payload on a booster with more than one previous flight.
The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 was a repeat of Boeing's unsuccessful first Orbital Flight Test (OFT-1) of its Starliner spacecraft. The uncrewed mission was part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2, using Starliner Spacecraft 2, launched 19 May 2022 and lasted 6 days. Starliner successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on 21 May 2022. It stayed at the ISS for 4 days before undocking and landing in the White Sands Missile Range on 25 May 2022.
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially-operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no eariler than 2024. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.
Shannon, formerly called GO Navigator, is an offshore supply ship owned and operated by Guice Offshore, and currently deployed as one of the SpaceX Dragon/Dragon 2 recovery vessels along with Megan. Both the vessels are identical and equipped with a medical treatment facility, helipad, lifting frame, etc.
Crew Dragon Resilience is a Crew Dragon spacecraft manufactured by SpaceX and built under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. In November 2020, it was launched into orbit to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-1 mission. With crew prompting, Resilience docked autonomously to the station at 04:01 UTC on 17 November 2020, or Day 2 of the mission, marking the first operational docking of a Crew Dragon and the first operational docking of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission carried four additional members of Expedition 64 to the three already on station.
Crew Dragon Endeavour is a Crew Dragon spacecraft manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. As of 2022 it has successfully completed three crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS). It was first launched into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket on 30 May 2020 and successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. This was the first crewed flight test of a Dragon capsule, carrying Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on first crewed orbital spaceflight from the United States since STS-135 in July 2011 and the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company. On 2 August 2020 it returned to Earth. The spacecraft was named by Hurley and Behnken after the Space ShuttleEndeavour, aboard which they first flew into space during the STS-127 and STS-123 missions, respectively. The name Endeavour is also shared by the command module of Apollo 15. The spacecraft's second mission, Crew-2, ended 8 November 2021 after having spent almost 200 days in orbit. Crew Dragon Endeavour set the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle previously set by her sibling Crew Dragon Resilience on 2 May 2021. Collectively, Endeavour has spent 280 days in orbit and is the crewed space capsule with most time spent in orbit so far.
Crew Dragon C204 was part of Crew Dragon flight vehicle SN 2-1 manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Used in the uncrewed Demo-1 mission, it was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket on 2 March 2019, arriving at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019. It was the first orbital test flight of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. The spacecraft was unexpectedly destroyed on 20 April 2019 during a separate test when firing the SuperDraco engines at Landing Zone 1.
SpaceX Crew-2 was the second operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the third overall crewed orbital flight of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission was launched on 23 April 2021 at 09:49:02 UTC, and docked to the International Space Station on 24 April at 09:08 UTC.
The Crew Dragon Pad Abort Test was a spacecraft test conducted by SpaceX on 6 May 2015 from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. As part of the development of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the test demonstrated the spacecraft's abort system capability, verifying the capsule's eight side-mounted SuperDraco thrusters' capability to quickly power itself away from a failing rocket while it is still on the ground. It was one of the two tests conducted by SpaceX on the abort system of spacecraft, the other one being the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test conducted on 19 January 2020.
Dragon C208 is the first Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, and the first in a line of International Space Station resupply craft which replaced the Dragon capsule, manufactured by SpaceX. The mission is contracted by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It flew for the first time on the CRS-21 mission on 6 December 2020. This was the first flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016. This was also the first time a Cargo Dragon was docked at the same time as a Crew Dragon spacecraft. This mission used Booster B1058.4.
