Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/4.5
16 mm
1/100
800

Puffed to the sea.

This is the Dragon spacecraft that successfully berthed with the space station on the first try. It is in McGregor, Texas, undergoing post-flight analysis. More photos below.

7 responses to “The Magic Dragon”

  1. Really impossibly amazing that all this is from a start-up private co. Magnifique!

  2. Somebody else made that happen…

  3. Man, that looks beat up. It looks like it’s "re-usable" in the same sense the shuttles were — i.e., much of it can be re-used to build another one.

    I like the FOD bags. It’s good to stay in character.

  4. is but a scratch… The first couple are being saved for future museums, with some part reuse like you mention. Cosmetics aside, the heat shield is fine to fly again on both Dragons that have returned from space.

    I am also impressed that they offer every day low prices 10-30x lower than the alternatives… and are hoping to lower it 100x further still.

  5. With all the space taken up by dracos and parachutes, how will spacex make space for the new super-dracos? In addition how will they integrate the landing gear without compromising the heatshield?

  6. Flickr photo page of this capsule at splashdown and recovery:
    Sea DragonThe insides… having brought cargo to the ISS, and other cargo back to Earth:
    IMG_5693

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