SpaceX To Re-Launch Dragon Capsule For ISS Cargo Missions?

SpaceX aims at re-launching the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) for cargo missions for the first time ever in 2017. Benjamin Reed, the director of commercial crew mission management at SpaceX, stated that the private aerospace company is gearing up to launch a pre-used Dragon capsule for the 11^th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) cargo mission to the ISS that is scheduled for next year.

"We will be reflying our first Dragon capsule on CRS-11," Reed stated during a presentation at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) on October 13, as reported by Space News. This decision will definitely allow the spacecraft organization to focus on the manufacturing of the second generation of Dragon capsules for crew and cargo missions. The next version of the spacecraft will have larger cargo volume in comparison to the current model.

Although the Dragon spacecraft was initially designed to be reused, the organization's contract with NASA demands for a new spacecraft for each cargo mission. Reed said that the company is trying to work it put with the space agency to assure them that Dragon spacecraft can be reused for further cargo missions safely.

"It's a great example of the partnership we have with NASA," Reed said of that effort to win approval from the space agency for the reuse of Dragon spacecraft. "We've carefully gone through a process of proving that you can reuse various components all the way up to a whole system, and how you certify that."

The most difficult challenge in reusing the spacecraft was to prevent the saltwater from entering the capsule after it slashes down, Reed explained. He added, the company has been working hard to update the capsule to the best conditions to ensure that there is no worry about the seawater issue.

Reed even stated that the aerospace company plans to reuse Dragon spacecrafts through the remaining CRS contract. However, he did not certify how many Dragon spacecrafts are available for reuse or how many times a single Dragon spacecraft can be flown.

In addition to the current contract of the CRS, NASA signed another contract with SpaceX for additional cargo missions earlier this year. The company is planning to use Dragon-2 for that mission, according to Nature World News.