Why SpaceX Stopped Production Of The Crew Dragon Astronaut Capsules
SpaceX is reportedly putting a halt to the production of new Crew Dragon units, a vehicle that has been employed for ferrying passengers between Earth and the International Space Station. As per a Reuters report, the company will continue to develop parts for the existing fleet for refurbishing needs and will retain the necessary production infrastructure, should the need arise to make more Crew Dragon units in the foreseeable future. The Elon Musk-led private space company will now focus on using its existing fleet of Crew Dragon ships to execute commercial flights on behalf of clients such as Axiom.
The reusable module has flown five missions to space ever since it became operational in 2020, and is enlisted with NASA's commercial space program for boosting orbital transportation facilities with help from private partners. Touted to be the first private aircraft to take human passengers to the space station, the Crew Dragon can accommodate up to seven passengers at once. Measuring around 27-feet, the vehicle has a pressurized section at the top for housing passengers as well as environmentally sensitive cargo, and employs Draco thrusters for propelling it while moving in Earth's orbit.
Changing priorities, but the doors are still open.
As for the reason why SpaceX is ceasing the production of more Crew Dragon vehicles, the company cites development priorities for bigger projects at hand. SpaceX reportedly wants to direct more urgency to the Starship, its reusable launch vehicle that aims to carry cargo as well as crew to space, the Moon, Mars, and even missions beyond that point. SpaceX claims the Starship spacecraft, mounted atop the Super Heavy rocket, will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. SpaceX hopes that the Starship system will be able to inject satellites into orbit at a cheaper cost than its existing Falcon rocket system. Earlier this month, Elon Musk tweeted that the first Starship orbital test flight will likely be conducted in the month of May.
Though SpaceX no longer aims to make new Crew Dragon units, it won't retire its trusty space vehicle. In February, NASA tasked SpaceX with three additional crewed missions to the International Space Station as part of its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract. The extended deal runs through 2028 and brings SpaceX's net contract value with NASA to a staggering $3.5 billion. Next month, the Crew Dragon will also take Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission to the International Space Station. Notably, the Ax-1 mission will also carry an innovative EEG helmet by Israel's brain.space to the space station for performing a first-of-its-kind brain activity experiment on astronauts in microgravity.