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SuperDraco

SuperDraco
A pair of SuperDraco rocket engines at SpaceX Hawthorne facility
Country of originUnited States
ManufacturerSpaceX
ApplicationLaunch escape system, propulsive landing[1]
StatusOperational
Liquid-fuel engine
PropellantN2O4 / CH6N2[2][3]
Performance
Thrust, sea-level71 kN (16,000 lbf),[4] individually
32,000 lbf, dual-engine cluster[5]
Chamber pressure6.9 MPa (1,000 psi)[1]
Specific impulse, sea-level235 s (2.30 km/s)[6]
Burn time25 sec[6]
Propellant capacity1,388 kg (3,060 lb)[3]
Used in
SpaceX Dragon 2

SuperDraco is a hypergolic propellant rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX. It is part of the SpaceX Draco family of rocket engines. A redundant array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for use as a launch escape system for the SpaceX Dragon 2, a passenger-carrying space capsule.

SuperDraco rocket engines utilize a storable (non-cryogenic) hypergolic propellant which allows the engines to be fired many months after fueling and launch. They combine the functions of both a reaction control system and a main propulsive engine. Hypergolic fuels do not require an external source of ignition, providing increased reliability for the spacecraft.[7]

The engines are used on crew transport flights to low Earth orbit, and were also projected to be used for entry, descent and landing control of the now-canceled Red Dragon to Mars.

SuperDracos are used on the SpaceX Dragon 2 crew-transporting space capsule and were used on the DragonFly, a prototype low-altitude reusable rocket that was used for flight testing various aspects of the propulsive-landing technology. While the engine is capable of 73,000 newtons (16,400 lbf) of thrust, during use for DragonFly testing, the engines were throttled to 68,170 newtons (15,325 lbf) to maintain vehicle stability.[6]

SpaceX originally intended to use the SuperDraco engines to land Crew Dragon on land; parachutes and an ocean splashdown were envisioned for use only in the case of an aborted launch. Precision water landing under parachutes was proposed to NASA as "the baseline return and recovery approach for the first few flights" of Crew Dragon.[8] The plan to use propulsive landing was later cancelled, leaving ocean splashdown under parachutes as the only option.[9] In 2024, the use of the SuperDraco thrusters for propulsive landing was enabled again, but only as a back-up for parachute emergencies.[10]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nsf20140530 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "SpaceX Demonstrates Astronaut Escape System for Crew Dragon Spacecraft". NASA. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2019-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster". 2014-05-28.
  5. ^ "SuperDraco | Test Fire". YouTube. 2015-11-10.
  6. ^ a b c James, Michael; Salton, Alexandria; Downing, Micah (November 12, 2013), Draft Environmental Assessment for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX for Operation of the Dragon Fly Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, Texas, May 2014 – Appendices (PDF), Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, LCC, p. 12
  7. ^ Clark, John (1972). Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants. Rutgers University Press. pp. 214–220. ISBN 978-0-8135-0725-5.
  8. ^ Reisman, Garrett (27 February 2015). "Statement of Garrett Reisman, Director of Crew Operations, Space Explorations Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) before the Subcommittee on Space, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). United States House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "SpaceX Updates – Taking the next step: Commercial Crew Development Round 2". SpaceX. 17 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  10. ^ McCrea, Aaron (2024-10-10). "Dragon receives long-planned propulsive landing upgrade after years of development". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 2024-11-19.

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