Dragon receives long-planned propulsive landing upgrade after years of development
SpaceX announced a new capability for the Dragon spacecraft on Sept. 27 in the unlikely event of a parachute failure. Dragon now has built-in redundancy to propulsively land using its SuperDraco thrusters, saving the vehicle and potential crew from a rough landing or imminent danger.
SpaceX introduced the concept of a propulsive landing Dragon over ten years ago. When SpaceX revealed Dragon 2, it was marketed as capable of propulsively landing anywhere on Earth and was initially designed to land exclusively with the SuperDracos. However, SpaceX ultimately pursued the use of parachutes as the main form of recovery for Dragon 2 missions.
Much has had to change with Dragon 2 since May 30, 2014, to make it the reliable crewed spacecraft we know it as today. Now, SpaceX has decided to bring back one of the main capabilities that was believed to have been left behind in development.
Rapid reusability was a major priority in SpaceX’s initial plans for flying Dragon. When returning from space, SpaceX planned for Dragon to light eight SuperDraco engines and propulsively slow the capsule’s velocity. When the velocity reached zero, the capsule would land on extendable landing legs on a designated landing pad. This action could have sped up the time it takes to refurbish Dragon and get it back on the launch pad.
