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A former NASA astronaut now employed by Axiom Space says the SpaceX private astronaut launch debut will reuse the same Crew Dragon spacecraft that currently supports NASA’s Crew-1 mission in orbit.
Currently only a few weeks into a planned six-month period in orbit, potentially marking the longest uninterrupted flight of an American spacecraft ever, the Crew Dragon C207 capsule and a section of consumable trunk have arrived at the International Space Station ( ISS) on November 16. Known as Crew-1, the mission represents the launch of SpaceX and the launch of a NASA commercial operational astronaut, which transports four astronauts to the ISS.
Basically, the mission has been a near flawless success so far, and Falcon 9 has now completed four Crew Dragon launches with no issues. From the Dragon’s point of view, the Crew-1 spacecraft performed a little less perfectly than those charged with piloting Demo-1 and Demo-2, but SpaceX handled the minor issues that arose with the professionalism and composure of a team far more familiar with human space flight.
Initial success aside, there is still some uncertainty ahead of Crew Dragon. While several Russian spacecraft have decades of experience spending at least several months in orbit, a manned American spacecraft has never spent more than 84 days in orbit. SpaceX itself effectively beat NASA to secure second place with the debut of Crew Dragon’s 63-day Demo-2 astronaut launch, completed with a successful re-entry and dive on August 2.
However, Crew-1 is expected to more than double the previous US record and nearly triple SpaceX’s second record, spending approximately 180 days (six months, take or take) in orbit. Barring an unprecedented space station or spacecraft emergency, the Dragon C207 crew disengages from the ISS, re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, and splashes into the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean in May 2021. Obviously, like the first recoverable U.S. spacecraft to spend anywhere near for so long in orbit, the Crew-1 Crew Dragon will be closely monitored to ensure the safety and reliability of its intricate reentry and recovery systems after approximately six months of exposure to extremes of space.
However, success is by far the most likely outcome. When the Dragon C207 crew crashes, its four astronaut passengers will be carefully untangled and the inspection and refurbishment process will begin almost immediately thereafter. Crew-1 will technically be the second Crew Dragon spacecraft to be refurbished after an orbital spaceflight, following Dragon 2’s inaugural reuse of the C206 Demo-2 capsule perhaps just a month or two earlier.
The Demo-2 Crew Dragon capsule is currently scheduled to fly a second time as early as March 31, 2021 on the SpaceX Crew-2 mission, ferrying four other astronauts to the ISS. If successful, Crew-2 will represent the first ever commercial astronaut launch to reuse both an orbital-class rocket is an orbital spacecraft and the NASA-supervised refurbishment and re-flight process will pave the way for future proven astronaut launches. This includes the first private AX-1 astronaut launch from private company Axiom Space, which is currently slated to launch as early as the fourth quarter of 2021.
The AX-1 will be commanded by former NASA astronaut Mike Lopez-Algeria and will carry three other private astronauts, including Israeli multimillionaire Eytan Stibbe. SpaceX will then be tasked with launching the second Israeli astronaut after Ilan Ramon’s death, when a heat shield design flaw caused NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia to rupture during reentry in 2003.
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