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How NASA and SpaceX Crew Dragon Missions to the ISS Compare

NASA sets requirements and certifies Crew Dragon; SpaceX provides and operates it. Here’s how the test flight, routine rotations and mission profiles differ.
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NASA and SpaceX do not operate competing versions of Crew Dragon. NASA sets program requirements, certifies the system and buys crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS); SpaceX provides and operates the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch system. The missions differ chiefly by purpose, crew, timing, spacecraft reuse and flight-specific circumstances—not by which organization is “in charge” of a separate Dragon program.

NASA and SpaceX have complementary roles

Under NASA’s Commercial Crew model, commercial providers design and operate their hardware while NASA establishes requirements and retains safety oversight. NASA acts as program authority and customer: it defines what the transportation service must do, certifies the system and integrates missions with the ISS. SpaceX supplies the vehicles and launch service, operates Dragon and supports launch and recovery. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program overview describes this partnership model.

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That distinction is the best starting point for comparing missions. A NASA crew rotation is a mission in a shared transportation program, not a NASA-operated spacecraft competing against a SpaceX-operated counterpart.

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Demo-2 tested the system; Crew-1 began regular rotations

Demo-2: a crewed test flight

NASA’s Demo-2 mission record lists its launch on May 30, 2020, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard. The mission tested crewed Dragon operations, including travel to the ISS and return. Behnken and Hurley splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2, 2020.

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Crew-1 and the operational rotations

After Demo-2 succeeded and NASA certified the system, Crew-1 became the first operational crew rotation. It launched on Nov. 15, 2020, and returned on May 2, 2021. Later missions have largely followed the same basic pattern: carry a crew to the station, support an expedition, then bring the crew home. Their rosters, schedules and particular vehicle histories vary.

What a Crew Dragon mission involves

Vehicle, crew and control

Dragon is an autonomous spacecraft designed for crew and critical cargo. NASA says it can carry up to seven passengers, but NASA crew missions carry up to four astronauts. The vehicle can be monitored and controlled by the onboard crew and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California; autonomy does not mean that people cannot monitor or intervene in operations. NASA provides these details on its Commercial Crew Spacecraft page.

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Launch, docking and return

Dragon comprises a crew capsule and an unpressurized trunk or service module. It launches atop SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. NASA’s 2021 Commercial Crew press kit describes automated orbital maneuvers and autonomous docking, with manual control available to the crew if needed. At the end of a mission, Dragon undocks, reenters the atmosphere, deploys drogue and main parachutes, then splashes down for recovery by a SpaceX ship.

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NASA says Commercial Crew astronauts arrive at the station no later than the day after launch, and rotations are scheduled for stays of up to six months. The press kit’s detailed launch timeline is based specifically on Crew-2 and is approximate; it should not be treated as a guaranteed launch-to-docking interval for every flight. Actual schedules and mission durations are flight-specific.

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Compare missions by purpose, crew and flight details

Because the transportation system is shared, useful comparisons focus on what changes from flight to flight rather than a supposed NASA-versus-SpaceX contest.

  • Purpose: Demo-2 was a crewed test flight; Crew-1 and subsequent rotations followed system certification and served as operational station missions.
  • Crew and expedition: Dragon’s capacity on NASA flights is up to four crew. The actual roster and representation of international partners depend on the mission; vehicle capacity does not establish a fixed nationality mix.
  • Schedule and profile: Launch date, launch facility, station arrival, handover and return timing are mission-specific. The common outline is launch, rendezvous and docking, a station stay, undocking, reentry and splashdown.
  • Spacecraft and booster history: Reuse should be checked for the specific flight. NASA’s Crew-10 coverage describes refurbishment and safety assessment for a previously flown Dragon; that does not mean every mission uses a reused capsule or booster. See NASA’s Crew-10 mission coverage.

These sources do not establish a comparable mission-by-mission dataset for ranking flights by safety, cost, speed or performance. Those claims require evidence beyond differences in crew lists or dates.

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Current snapshot: Crew-13

NASA’s Crew-13 mission page, updated Sept. 30, 2026, lists the mission as launched at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 1, 2026. It names Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk and Sergey Teteryatnikov. NASA identifies Crew-13 as the 13th crew rotation and the 14th crewed Dragon flight when Demo-2 is included. The page gives the return as occurring in 2027 but does not state a specific landing date.

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NASA’s 2021 guide gives Dragon’s height as 26.7 feet and diameter as 13 feet, and Falcon 9’s height as 229.6 feet. These are figures published in that guide, not a current independent specification check. They describe the hardware, but do not change the central comparison: NASA sets and oversees the crew-transportation program, while SpaceX provides and operates the Dragon and Falcon 9 system.

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