SpaceX halts production of Crew Dragon. Is it while waiting for the end of the career of the current capsules?
Four space capsules for transporting people, and not one more. SpaceX does not plan to build any more copies of its vehicle, Reuters reported on March 28, 2022 after speaking with a company executive. The American company will therefore rely on a relatively small fleet to provide the shuttle between Earth and the ISS.
The four capsules are each entitled to a small, very symbolic nickname: there is Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance and Freedom (Determination, Resilience, Endurance and Freedom in French). Three of them are already operational (Endeavor and Resilience have already been used twice and Endurance once), while Freedom is in the process of being manufactured.
SpaceX pivots to Starship
The end of production of the Crew Dragon capsule was not announced by SpaceX, but this decision is not absurd given the company’s strategy, which is based on the reuse of material. Like the first stage of Falcon 9 rockets, this spacecraft is designed to be used multiple times with minimal maintenance.
In principle, each Crew Dragon vessel must be able to serve at least five times, which means that the American company could provide at least twenty round trips between Earth and the International Space Station. This is obviously a minimum threshold that had to be met during the design of the ship: but nothing says that a capsule cannot serve much more.
This reuse constitutes a capacity which, in fact, avoids SpaceX having to rebuild a vehicle with each crew rotation. In doing so, the company can thus preserve resources to move forward on something else – for example the Starship, which should one day take over from the Falcon 9, but also… from the Crew Dragon capsule, with a brand new spacecraft.
Moreover, assuming that SpaceX loses a capsule, nothing would prevent it from getting back in front of the workbench to build a sixth capsule to fill the vacant place. This is obviously a scenario that we do not want to see happen, because a Crew Dragon capsule destruction would probably mean the loss of the crew on board.
Depending on the agreements with the American space agency (Nasa) and the needs of the space conquest, SpaceX could possibly produce others. But current needs are clearly covered and, moreover, the delivery of astronauts can also be ensured by the Russian side, with the Soyuz, and soon with Boeing and its Starliner capsule.
The Crew Dragon capsule is a variation of the Dragon capsule, since it is used to transport people. The American company also has two special versions of the machine, to serve as a supply cargo ship for the ISS. They are uninhabited and are autonomous. A third copy of the cargo ship is under construction.
