With the mission of carrying the Human and Cargo to space the Dragon has reflown 9 missions, 22 visits to the ISS and 23 launches. The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.

The Engines: The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with 16 Draco thrusters used to orient the spacecraft during the mission, including apogee/perigee maneuvers, orbit adjustment and attitude control. Each Draco thruster is capable of generating 90 pounds of force in the vacuum of space. An array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for Dragon’s launch escape system. In the unlikely event of an emergency, the eight SuperDraco engines can power Dragon half a mile from the launch vehicle in less than 8 seconds
The parachute system: The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with two drogue parachutes to stabilize the spacecraft following reentry and four main parachutes to further decelerate the spacecraft prior to landing.