SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 (COTS 2), was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft, launched 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.
The Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage was used on the first five Falcon 9 launches, and powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines arranged in a 3x3 pattern.
See DetailsB0005 was expended after its first flight.
Core will be expended.First Dragon mission with complete spacecraft, first rendezvous mission, first berthing with ISS. After recovery, the capsule was put on display at Kennedy Space Center.
Dragon 1 DetailsSpace Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
INFO WIKIA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
2 satellites built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) for testing operations of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites f…
3 Chinese satellites reported to be for "orbital technological testing" purposes. Actual usage not known.
A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.
Sentinel-1D carries an advanced radar technology to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface as part of the Sentine…
Classified Earth observation satellite officially reported as for "national resources/hydrology/meteorology surveying & disaster management" purposes.
Communications Satellite for the Indian Navy, replacing GSAT-7 for secure real-time links between Indian warships, submarines, aircraft, and shore-ba…
Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.