# SpaceX Dragon Dragon is [[SpaceX]]'s capsule for carrying astronauts and cargo to orbit. It launches on a [[Falcon 9]] and splashes down in the ocean under parachutes. It is currently the only American spacecraft certified to fly astronauts to the [[International Space Station]], which makes it one of the most important single pieces of hardware in the U.S. space program. ## From cargo to crew - **2012** — The original cargo Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to deliver supplies to the space station. - **2014** — [[NASA]] picks two companies to fly its astronauts: SpaceX, with a $2.6 billion contract, and [[Boeing]], with $4.2 billion for its Starliner capsule. - **2020** — Crew Dragon flies two NASA astronauts to the station, the first crewed orbital launch from U.S. soil since the [[Space Shuttle]] retired in 2011. That ended nine years of buying seats on Russia's [[Soyuz]], and began a new dependence on SpaceX. - **2021 onward** — Dragon also flies private crews. The first all-civilian orbital mission, Inspiration4 in 2021, was bought and commanded by [[Jared Isaacman]], who later commanded a second private Dragon flight and became NASA administrator. ## Boeing's failure made Dragon the only option Boeing's Starliner was supposed to be the second, competing ride. Its first crewed test flight in 2024 developed thruster problems, and NASA sent the capsule home empty. Its two astronauts, scheduled for about ten days in orbit, stayed more than nine months and came home on a Dragon in March 2025. NASA then cut Boeing's planned crew flights and made Starliner's next flight cargo-only. As of late 2026, that flight had still not launched, and Boeing was targeting the last quarter of the year at the earliest. In 2024 NASA also hired SpaceX, for up to $843 million, to build the vehicle that will push the space station out of orbit at the end of its life. Dragon technology is the basis for it. ## The decommissioning threat In June 2025, during [[Elon Musk]]'s public break with [[Donald Trump]], the president threatened to cancel SpaceX's government contracts. Musk replied that SpaceX would "begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." That would have left the United States with no way to get astronauts to or from its own space station. Musk walked the threat back within hours, after a follower urged him to cool off. The threat was never carried out. But for a few hours it showed what single-supplier dependence means in practice: a crucial piece of national infrastructure could be put on the table in a personal political fight. ## Why it's on the map Dragon is the strongest single argument in this wiki that privatizing space has created a dependency rather than a market. NASA designed the Commercial Crew Program with two suppliers precisely so it would never rely on one. Boeing's failure undid that plan. The June 2025 episode showed the risk is not only technical: when one person controls the only ride, his politics become part of national space policy. ## See also - [[SpaceX]] · [[Elon Musk]] — the company and its owner - [[Falcon 9]] — the rocket that launches Dragon - [[International Space Station]] — Dragon's main destination - [[Boeing]] — the competitor whose Starliner faltered - [[Soyuz]] — the Russian capsule Dragon replaced for U.S. crews - [[Jared Isaacman]] — Dragon's most prominent private customer, now running NASA - [[Space Hub]] — the parent hub