Dragon

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Dragon

spacecraft

Also known as: SpaceX Dragon

Written by Erik Gregersen

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 9, 2024 • Article History

Dragon, privately developed spacecraft built by the American corporation SpaceX and the first private spacecraft to carry astronauts to orbit. The first of two test flights was launched on December 8, 2010, and the second test flight, which carried cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), was launched on May 22, 2012. The first crewed flight launched on May 30, 2020, and carried astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken to the ISS. Dragon has a bell-shaped forward compartment that is pressurized and a cylindrical rear compartment called the trunk that is unpressurized. A pair of solar arrays that power the ...(100 of 256 words)

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