Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit

Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit
Mission type	Technology demonstration
Operator	SpaceX
COSPAR ID	2010-026A
SATCAT no.	36595
Mission duration	22 days
Orbits completed	359
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date	4 June 2010, 18:45 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 v1.0 F1
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Reentry	27 June 2010, 00:50 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	249.5 kilometers (155.0 mi)
Apogee altitude	252.5 kilometers (156.9 mi)
Inclination	34.5 degrees
Epoch	26 June 2010 22:58:50
	SpaceX Dragon COTS-1 →

The Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit was a boilerplate version of the Dragon spacecraft manufactured by SpaceX. 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, on June 4, 2010. 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. The spacecraft orbited the Earth over 300 times before decaying from orbit and reentering the atmosphere on 27 June.^[3]

^ ^a ^b "Dragon/Falcon 9 rocket - Orbit".
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference register04-06-10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference space.com Fiery End was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[heavens-above.com-1] "Dragon/Falcon 9 rocket - Orbit".

[register04-06-10-2] Cite error: The named reference register04-06-10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[space.com_Fiery_End-3] Cite error: The named reference space.com Fiery End was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]