Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit (DSQU)
Falcon 9 v1.0
SpaceX
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, FL, USA
Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 230 rockets, including 230 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 940 rocket launches.
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 3×3 pattern.
Landing
Core B0003
Booster B0003 last launched 06/04/2010 and has seen 0 successful launches and landings. Stage Expended
Atlantic Ocean – ATL
Atlantic Ocean
Parachute Landing – PL
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.