Crew Dragon Demo-1 was the first orbital test of the Dragon 2 spacecraft. The mission launched on 2 March 2019 at 07:49:03 UTC, and arrived at the International Space Station on 3 March 2019, a little over 24 hours after the launch. The mission ended following a successful splashdown on 8 March 2019 at 13:45:08 UTC.
Dragon C204 silhouetted against Earth's horizon, during its approach to the ISS
The Dragon 2 at SpaceX's LC-39A Horizontal Integration Facility
C204 launches from Kennedy LC-39A.
Dragon 2 docked to the International Space Station
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by American space company SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX also launches private missions, such as Inspiration4 and Axiom Space Missions. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, a spacecraft capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown. It has proven to be the most cost effective spacecraft in history to be used by NASA.
Crew Dragon approaching the ISS in March 2019 during Demo-1
Crew Dragon Launch Configuration
Crew Dragon C204 in the LC-39A Horizontal Integration Facility in December 2018 preparing for the launch of DM-1
Crew Dragon Freedom with its four Mk3 main parachutes deployed