Dragon C1

Spacecraft n°:

US spacecraft n°:

Launch data: Designation  37244 / 10066A Launch date  08 Dec 2010 - 15:43 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-40 Launch vehicle  Falcon-9 Mission  Cargo Spaceship testflight Earth orbit on Dec 8.71: Perigee / Apogee  280 x 306 km Eccentricity  0.002 Inclination  34.55 deg Period  90.38 min

Description:

• Dragon is a space capsule designed by SpaceX to provide supplies to the International space station.
  The prototype Dragon C1 is a simplified test of the Dragon capsule. For the 4 hour test flight, this prototype lacked the solar arrays and the docking mechanism of the operational Dragon-C capsule. Contrary to the operational missions, the unpressurized trunk stayed connected to the Falcon-9 upper stage and only the capsule itself separated from the launch vehicle.

Mission details:

• On December 8, 2010 SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from Earth orbit. SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:43 AM EST (15:43 UT) from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, successfully putting the first Dragon spacecraft into a 279 x 308 km x 34.5 deg orbit for a test flight. The Dragon spacecraft orbited the Earth at speeds greater than 7,600 meters per second (17,000 miles per hour), reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, and landed just after 2:00 PM EST less than one mile from the center of the targeted landing zone in the Pacific Ocean, splashing down 800 km W of Mexico at 1903 UTC.
• The Dragon C1's Trunk Module remained attached to the Falcon 9 second stage after orbit insertion; the capsule separated from the trunk module. About 45 min after launch six small satellites were also ejected from the trunk.
  
  

  The Dragon spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean 3 hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds after liftoff

  The SpaceX crew brought Dragon back to the barge where the crane lifted it from the water.

  
  
  

  The Dragon spacecraft, in excellent condition after its 50,000 mile mission, rests in its cradle for the 500 mile ride back to Los Angeles.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Cape Canaveral.