Watch the Launch

Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit (DSQU)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Test Flight

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft. After using it for ground tests to rate Dragon's shape and mass in various tests, SpaceX launched it into low Earth orbit on the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX used the launch to evaluate the aerodynamic conditions on the spacecraft and performance of the carrier rocket in a real-world launch scenario, ahead of Dragon flights for NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Falcon 9

Family: Falcon
Configuration: v1.0

The Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage was used on the first five Falcon 9 launches, and powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines arranged in a 3x3 pattern.

See Falcon Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    47.8 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    318 T
  • Thrust
    3807 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
    Falcon
  • Variant
    v1.0
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 v1.0
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $59000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    9300 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    3400 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B0003


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No
First Flight: June 4, 2010
Last Flight: June 4, 2010
Flights: 1

Landing Information

Core will be expended.

SpaceX

Circle Image
CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 240 Failures: 10 Pending: 113

Agency Type: Commercial

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 40


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 19 hours ago
Starlink Group 2-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Chollima 1
Failure
3 days, 4 hours ago
Malligyong-1
Malligyong-1 Pad - Sohae Satellite Launching Station, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Malligyong-1 (meaning "Telescope-1") is a North Korean satellite officially declared to be for military reconnaissance purposes. It failed to reach o…


Long March 2
Success
4 days ago
Shenzhou 16
Launch Area 4 (SLS-1 / 921) - Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Fifth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.


GSLV Mk II
Success
4 days, 20 hours ago
IRNSS-1J (NVS-01)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 21 hours ago
BADR-8
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Geostationary communications satellite built by Airbus Defense and Space and based on the Eurostar Neo platform for Arabsat.


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Success
1 week ago
Kondor-FKA No.1
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

The Kondor-FKA is a small civilian radar Earth observation satellite designed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a civilian counterpart to the Kondor-E sate…


Electron
Success
1 week ago
TROPICS-3
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Last two operational (TROPICS-06 & TROPICS-07) satellites for NASA's Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a…


SpaceShipTwo
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
VSS Unity 25
Spaceport America - Air launch to Suborbital flight

Virgin Galactic return to space mission ahead of the first commercial flight.


Nuri
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
NEXTSat-2 & SNIPE
LC-2 - Naro Space Center, South Korea

Third flight of the KSLV-II "Nuri" launch vehicle, carrying NEXTSat-2 as well as SNIPE A through D.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Progress MS-23 (84P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.