The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.
The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with 16 Draco thrusters used to orient the spacecraft during the mission, including apogee/perigee maneuvers, orbit adjustment and attitude control. Each Draco thruster is capable of generating 90 pounds of force in the vacuum of space.
NUMBER OF ENGINES | 16 |
THRUST IN VACUUM | 400 N / 90 lbf |
An array of eight SuperDraco engines provide fault-tolerant propulsion for Dragon’s launch escape system. In the unlikely event of an emergency, the eight SuperDraco engines can power Dragon half a mile away from the launch vehicle in less than eight seconds.
NUMBER OF ENGINES | 8 |
ESCAPE THRUST | 73 kN / 16,400 lbf |