Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit (DSQU)

Mission

Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit (DSQU)

• Type: Test Flight
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $59,000,000

The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft. After using it for ground tests to rate Dragon's shape and mass in various tests, SpaceX launched it into low Earth orbit on the maiden flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX used the launch to evaluate the aerodynamic conditions on the spacecraft and performance of the carrier rocket in a real-world launch scenario, ahead of Dragon flights for NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Location

Space Launch Complex 40

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida

Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 311 rockets, including 311 orbital launch attempts. While Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA, has been the site for 1027 rocket launches.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.

Rocket

SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.0

The Falcon 9 v1.0 first stage was used on the first five Falcon 9 launches, and powered by nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines arranged in a 3x3 pattern.

Learn more about the Falcon 9 v1.0

Core B0003

No parachutes were observed during descent. Apparently the Falcon 9 first stage hit the water rather hard.Observation airfcraft confirmed the debris field. Booster B0003 last launched 06/04/2010 and has seen 0 successful launches and landings. Stage Expended

Atlantic Ocean - ATL

Atlantic Ocean

Parachute Landing - PCL

Unpowered landing using parachute(s).

Agency

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.