Talk:SpaceX Dragon 2

Add section for the touchscreen cockpit

One of the most interesting features of the Dragon 2 spacecraft is the design of its touchscreen cockpit. I suggest adding a section covering this aspect of the craft. The SpaceX software team recently completed a Q&A which has official technical information: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/gxb7j1/we_are_the_spacex_software_team_ask_us_anything/

Full disclosure: I worked on the program — https://twitter.com/klebba/status/1102300821130104833

--Klebba (talk) 20:26, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

IF this article is split into two (2) entries, then the Design section should be include this level of detail. It is an important Differentiator between Crew Dragon and Starliner or Orion capsule designs.

--Beatgr (talk) 13:00, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Dragon 2 name

Since at least 2019 multiple sources, including spaceX, have called Dragon 2 "crew dragon" when talking about the crewed version, and the cargo dragon (which may deserve a different article in wikipedia as it have differences with the crewed version) is the one called dragon 2. Maybe a clarification at the start of the article or a / on the name may clear things for amateur space fans and other visitors. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.159.14.181 (talk) 18:01, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

“Dragon 2” aka “C200” is the overall class name. Crew and cargo are the variations/configurations they can be flown in. It’s just that a true cargo ship has not flown yet.

That’s like arguing, say, a Ford transit van with seats in the back is somehow a different vehicle than one without. Plus or minus a few parts, no matter their importance, they are still the same ships. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Metropod (talk • contribs) 18:47, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

Flag of company as well as nation?

I don't recall seeing any discussion on whether the logo of the company a non-government astronaut would reflect their company as well as their nationality, can someone point me to that Talk page? Chris Ferguson didn't have the Boeing logo on the CFT page, none of the non-government astronauts (Greg Jarvis for Hughes, Charlie Walker for McDonnell Douglas, Toyohiro Akiyama for TBS, corporate fliers on Soyuz to Mir, etc.). Should the "spaceflight participants" also have the logo of Space Adventures who arranged their trip? No, that field is for the nationality of the person. Wizardimps (talk) 04:39, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

@Wizardimps: See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Spaceflight#Flags for astronauts of companies. I haven't read or participated in the discussion but that is the latest discussion I think. OkayKenji ^{(talk • contribs)} 19:01, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

Thanks @OkayKenji:, I posted my $0.02 over there. TL;DR - I'm against corporate logos either with or without national flag. Wizardimps (talk) 21:03, 1 November 2020 (UTC)

Dragon 2 dry mass

The Dragon 2 dry mass listed in the wikipedia article is incorrect. It is based on an incorrect interpretation of the document sourced. "Overall weight of the stack" is not the same as dry mass.

Fortunately there is a more recent FAA document available describing the mass of the Dragon 2: "Draft Environmental Assessment for Issuing SpaceX a Launch License for an In-flight Dragon Abort Test, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida" dated November 2018.

Dragon 2 mass is 17,000 pounds without cargo, and the Dragon 2 contains approximately 5,650 pounds of rocket propellant. Therefore the dry mass of the Dragon 2 can be no greater than 11,350 pounds (or 5,153 kg). NOT over 9,525 kg as the wikipedia article currently claims.

A dry mass of 5,135 kg for Dragon 2 is also more logical, considering other sources suggest the dry mass of the original cargo Dragon is 4,300 kg. It is not logical to assume the Dragon 2 dry mass grew by over 100% compared to the cargo Dragon it was based upon.

Here is the section of the FAA document, describing the Dragon 2...

2.1.2 DRAGON TEST VEHICLE SpaceX has developed Dragon to deliver cargo and experiments to the ISS and Low Earth Orbit (Dragon-1) and to transport astronauts to the ISS (Dragon-2) (Figure 2-1). Dragon weighs approximately 17,000 pounds without cargo and is approximately 17 feet tall with a base width of 13 feet. Dragon-2 is composed of the capsule for pressurized crew and cargo, the unpressurized cargo module or “trunk,” and a nosecone. Other primary structures include a welded aluminum pressure vessel, primary heat shield support structure, and back shell thermal protection system support structure. The thermal protection structure supports secondary structures including the SuperDraco engines, propellant tanks, pressurant tanks, parachute system, and necessary avionics. The Dragon test vehicle is intended to represent the final flight configuration of Dragon-2. Systems, subsystems, and components critical to the success of in-flight abort would be in the final configuration. Non-critical systems would either be eliminated or simplified to reduce the complexity of the ground refurbishment process to conduct the abort test. Dragon would contain approximately 5,650 pounds of hypergolic propellant, including approximately 3,500 pounds of dinitrogen tetroxide (NTO) and 2,150 pounds of monomethylhydrazine (MMH). Dragon would contain approximately 2,400 pounds of residual propellant after the abort test. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gunsandrockets (talk • contribs) 21:56, 8 November 2020 (UTC)

Exclusive use?

A great deal of attention has been brought to the fact that these are privately owned, commercial vehicles, but the article (as far as I can tell) does not make clear whether NASA has exclusive use of Crew Dragon, either in the present or the future. Is SpaceX free to provide these or future vehicles to other agencies or countries? The article ought to say, if this information is available. Count Robert of Paris (talk) 00:03, 19 November 2020 (UTC)

The article says "It is also expected to be used in flights by American space tourism company Space Adventures and to shuttle tourists to and from Axiom Space's planned space station." - neither of which are NASA. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 00:04, 19 November 2020 (UTC)

D'oh! I completely missed that, thank you. Any idea about other countries? Count Robert of Paris (talk) 00:07, 19 November 2020 (UTC)