The second generation Dragon cargo vehicle is a space capsule designed by SpaceX to provide supplies to the International space station based on the crewed Crew Dragon capsule.
The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used
for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members.
Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, Dragon will be utilized to fulfill the NASA COTS
contract for demonstration of cargo re-supply of the ISS.
The Dragon capsule is comprised of three main elements: the Nosecone, which protects the
vessel and the docking adaptor during ascent; the Pressurized Section, which houses the
crew and/or pressurized cargo; and the Service Section, which contains avionics, the RCS
system, parachutes, and other support infrastructure. In addition an unpressurized trunk
is included, which provides for the stowage of unpressurized cargo and will support
Dragon's solar arrays and thermal radiators.
The second generation Cargo Dragon is similar to the Crew Dragon version, but has reduced life support systems, no Super Drago abort engines and only two fins. Contrary to the first generation Dragon which were berthed at the ISS using the station's robotic arm, the second generation Cargo Dragons actively dock with the ISS.
Under the CRS-2 selction in January 2015 Dragon was selected for a minimum of six missions. In December 2020, three more were announced.
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