SpaceX will reuse the fleet of four capsules already made.
SpaceX
SpaceX has ended production of new Crew Dragon capsules, the spacecrafts that transport astronauts back and forth from the International Space Station (ISS), according to a Reuters report Monday. A company executive told the publication the space transportation company will instead reuse the fleet of four capsules already made.
Crew Dragon is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the ISS and is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit. Since its debut in 2022, Dragon capsules have taken humans to space five separate times.
While SpaceX is planning to continue manufacturing parts for the capsules for future purposes, the company is focusing in on the first Starship orbital flight test they are targeting for May 2022, which was earlier announced by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The company must first receive a number of regulatory approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Starship, the biggest of Musk’s rockets, is intended to be the vessel NASA uses to send astronauts to the moon and back. Musk also hopes that Starship could also be used to transport humans to Mars by the end of this decade. Starship has made several successful high-altitude flights, but has not made it to space yet.
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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