F9: Cargo Dragon 2 CRS-21

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Maiden flight of Cargo Dragon 2. Same airframe as Crew Dragon but no human life support system, no SuperDraco escape system, and an interior optimized for cargo. No more berthing using the robotic arm, Cargo Dragon 2 automatically docks.

 

Date: December 5, 2020

Time: 2339 Eastern (1639 UT)

Pad: LC-39A

Booster: B1058.4

Recovery: ASDS

Docking: Node 2 Zenith/IDA-3

Trunk cargo: Nanorack's 'Bishop' airlock

https://nanoracks.com/bishop-airlock/

 

 

 

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Dragon 2, Crew and Cargo, has been given  much larger Trunk.

 

From the DragonLab datasheet, Dragon 1 had a Standard Trunk of 14 cu/meters and an Extended Trunk option of 34 cu/meters (which never flew.)

https://web.archive.org/web/20110104010401if_/http://www.spacex.com/downloads/dragonlab-datasheet.pdf

SpaceX's current Dragon 2 page lists a Trunk volume of 37 cu/meters, so quite a stretch. 

 

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/dragon/

 

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Scrubbed: weather

 

Date: December 6, 2020

Time: 1117 Eastern (1617 UT)

 

 

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Perfect, just.like.clockwork.

 

Separation showed the Cargo Dragon 2 two-fin config vs four fins for Crew Dragon, two being retained for their conformal solar tiles (no fins would reduce power by ~18%).

 

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