Dragon 1

Mission Profile

Dragon 1 is SpaceX's uncrewed cargo spacecraft, the first commercially designed and operated vehicle to berth with the International Space Station and the first to be recovered from orbit by a private company. Launched atop Falcon 9 rockets beginning with its first orbital flight on 8 December 2010, Dragon 1 delivered pressurized cargo, external experiments, and refrigerated science samples under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services program across 23 flights through 2020. Unlike capsules before it, Dragon 1 can return cargo from the ISS rather than destroying it during reentry, enabling the recovery of time-sensitive scientific experiments. The experience gained with Dragon 1 directly enabled SpaceX to develop Dragon 2, the crewed successor that began flying NASA astronauts in 2020.