SpaceX launches the last of its original Dragon 1 cargo capsules to space station

The spacecraft that started Nasa’s relationship with SpaceX took off from the Space Coast for the last time late Friday night, signalling the end of the first generation of commercial missions to space.

SpaceX’s Dragon 1 began supplying the space station in 2012 after the conclusion of the space shuttle program in 2011. It was the first commercial craft to dock at the station, the first to carry live mice to the orbiting laboratory and the first to fly a reused booster for a government mission.

After Friday’s flight – SpaceX’s 20th in its first contract with Nasa – Dragon 1 will be retired and replaced with the upgraded and updated Dragon 2. The new vehicle will start launching in the fall. It has been redesigned to have about 20% more volume for payloads, dock autonomously with the ISS and can be reused five times.

The current version can be reused three times. The Dragon that took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s launch complex 40 at 11:50pm. Friday was on its third reuse – making it one of three Dragon 1’s that was reflown three times. Nine of the 20 Dragon 1 missions featured a reused vehicle.

Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice-president of build and flight reliability, commended the team that has worked for more than a decade to develop the first iteration of Dragon at a press conference Friday afternoon.