Human Spaceflight
DRAGON C2+
SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, also known as Dragon C2+, was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft. It launched in May 2012 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.
Read more on Wikipedia →Launch
- Launch date
- May 22, 2012 at 07:44 AM UTC
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral SFS, USA
- Launched by
- Falcon 9 v1.0 →
- Operator
- SpaceX
- Mission
- SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2
- Launch record
- View full launch →
Orbit
- Orbit regime
- LEO
- Apoapsis
- 406 km
- Periapsis
- 392 km
- Inclination
- 51.64°
- Orbital period
- 92.54 min
Spacecraft
- Operator
- United States
- Launch mass
- 6,650 kg
Identity
- COSPAR (Int'l)
- 2012-027A
- NORAD catalog №
- 38348
- Object type
- Payload
- Owner / operator
United States
- Radar cross-section
- 13.0082 m²
- Status
- Decayed
- Decay / reentry
- May 31, 2012
End of mission
- Last active / ended
- May 31, 2012
- Time in service
- 9 days
- Fate
- Reentered Earth's atmosphere and was destroyed.
- Final status
- Decayed