Crew Dragon – Spaceflight Now

First unpiloted test flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule reset for March 2

February 6, 2019

As expected, NASA announced Wednesday that the first unpiloted test flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Crew Dragon astronaut ferry ship has slipped from later this month to March 2. The first unpiloted flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule is now targeted for the April timeframe.

Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in key test ahead of Crew Dragon demo flight

January 25, 2019

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sporting human-rating upgrades such as new composite pressurant tanks briefly ignited its nine Merlin engines Thursday afternoon on a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and SpaceX later declared the pre-launch milestone complete in preparation for a critical test flight with a commercial crew capsule as soon as late February.

Video: Zoomed in view of ignition of Falcon 9 engines in prelaunch test (members only)

January 25, 2019

Watch a zoomed in view of the Falcon 9 rocket with the first Crew Dragon capsule atop, briefly fire its engines for a crucial pre-launch test on Jan. 24, 2019 at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

Video: Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon briefly ignites engines (members only)

January 24, 2019

Watch as a Falcon 9 rocket with the first Crew Dragon capsule atop, briefly fired its engines for a crucial pre-launch test on Jan. 24, 2019.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon briefly fires engines in test

January 22, 2019

The Falcon 9 rocket set to launch the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on a test flight in February briefly ignited its Merlin main engines on pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. The Crew Dragon test flight to the International Space Station is a precursor to the spaceship’s first mission with astronauts later this year.

SpaceX about one month away from first commercial crew test flight

January 7, 2019

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said this weekend that the company is about one month away from launching the first Crew Dragon spacecraft on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, a precursor to a demonstration launch with astronauts later this year. He also warned that early test flights of the commercial crew capsule, built under contract to NASA, will be “especially dangerous.”

Time-lapse: The Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon roll to the launch pad (members only)

January 7, 2019

In this time-lapse video, the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon atop rolls to launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for the first time on January 3. The rocket was then lifted vertical for a series of fit checks and tests.

SpaceX crew capsule, Falcon 9 rocket roll out to pad 39A in Florida for tests

January 3, 2019

SpaceX rolled out the company’s first space-worthy Crew Dragon spacecraft and its Falcon 9 launcher to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time Thursday, beginning a series of fit checks before the commercial spaceship takes off on its first orbital test flight.

NASA announces target date for first SpaceX Crew Dragon flight

November 21, 2018

SpaceX is targeting Jan. 7 for launch of its first Crew Dragon commercial ferry ship on an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, NASA announced Wednesday, a major milestone in the agency’s drive to end its sole reliance on Russian Soyuz crew ships for carrying astronauts to orbit.

Safety panel says much work left to do before commercial crew ships fly

October 13, 2018

NASA safety advisors on Thursday lauded hardware milestones on Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew capsules, but said multiple technical issues, including problems with parachutes, must be resolved before the human-rated ships are ready to carry astronauts, adding that both companies continue to pursue schedules that appear to be unachievable.