SpaceX Announces Dragon Recovery Operations Moving To US West Coast

SpaceX has announced a significant shift in the recovery operations of its Dragon spacecraft. Starting in 2025, Dragon splashdowns will transition from the coast of Florida to the coast of California. This move is aimed at mitigating risks associated with debris from the spacecraft’s trunk section during reentry.

Since its inception, the Dragon spacecraft has marked several historic milestones in space exploration.

In June 2010, Dragon became the first privately-developed spacecraft to launch, orbit Earth, reenter, and be recovered. This success was followed by Dragon becoming the first commercial vehicle to visit the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2012, under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The partnership between NASA and SpaceX through the COTS program has led to regular commercial cargo resupply missions to the ISS.

In 2020, NASA certified Dragon for human spaceflight after the historic launch of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS.

With 45 missions to date, Dragon has been pivotal in maintaining the operation of the ISS, delivering essential supplies, scientific research, and astronauts to the orbiting laboratory.

Dragon Design and Recovery Operations

The Dragon spacecraft consists of two main parts: a pressurized section for crew and cargo, and an unpressurized expendable section known as the trunk, which contains hardware for spacecraft power and cooling while on orbit. The trunk can also deliver or dispose of unpressurized hardware from the ISS.

Initially, during the first 21 missions, the trunk remained attached to the pressurized section until after the deorbit burn. It was then jettisoned to splash down safely in the Pacific Ocean. However, in 2019, Dragon recovery operations moved to the East Coast to expedite the delivery of critical cargo to NASA teams in Florida and to facilitate the rapid transport of crews to the Kennedy Space Center.

Despite the logistical advantages, this shift led to challenges. During reentry, the trunk, jettisoned before the deorbit burn, was expected to burn up completely. However, on several occasions, sizable pieces of debris survived reentry, landing in places such as Australia, Saskatchewan in Canada, and North Carolina in USA.

While these incidents caused no damage or injuries, they highlighted the need for a more controlled reentry process.

Adapting to New Challenges

In response to the debris incidents, SpaceX and NASA reviewed the data and conducted additional testing to better understand the trunk’s breakup characteristics. They concluded that the most effective solution was to revert to the West Coast recovery operations.

A software change will now ensure that Dragon executes its deorbit burn before jettisoning the trunk, similar to the procedure followed during the first 21 missions. This approach will place the trunk on a known reentry trajectory, safely splashing down off the coast of California.

“SpaceX will implement a software change that will have Dragon execute its deorbit burn before jettisoning the trunk, similar to our first 21 Dragon recoveries,” - Sarah Walker, Director of Dragon Mission Management at SpaceX

Alternatives, such as a complete redesign of the trunk or adding a propulsion system, were considered but ultimately ruled out.

Future Operations and Benefits

Starting next year, SpaceX will move a recovery vessel from Florida to California, operating out of the Port of Long Beach. This transition will be completed shortly after the Crew-9 mission, scheduled for launch on August 18, 2024, with splashdown in early 2025 off the coast of Florida.

While the transition poses new challenges for recovery operations, it also offers benefits. The improved weather conditions on the West Coast, will enhance return availability.

“One benefit of the West Coast is much better weather...We actually saw that the West Coast sites that we’re looking at have much better weather, which allows us to have much better return availability.” - Sarah Walker, Director of Dragon Mission Management at SpaceX

SpaceX’s commitment to innovation and safety continues to drive advancements in spaceflight operations.