THEY GROW UP SO FAST: SpaceX to launch last new cargo Dragon spacecraft.

In addition to the three cargo Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX has four Crew Dragon spacecraft, and Walker revealed at the briefing SpaceX plans to build a fifth and likely final Crew Dragon. “This is the last new cargo Dragon spacecraft we plan to build,” she said. “We recently decided to build one more crewed spacecraft as well.”

Previously, SpaceX executives said four Crew Dragon spacecraft would be enough to meet its future needs. At an October 2021 NASA briefing, Walker said the four Crew Dragon vehicles the company planned then “seem sufficient to meet our manifest, which is thriving right now.”

At the Nov. 18 briefing, she attributed the decision for a fifth Crew Dragon to further growth of that manifest. That included NASA’s decision to add eight ISS missions to SpaceX’s existing commercial crew contract as well as an “exciting commercial human spaceflight manifest.” The new Crew Dragon, she said later in the call, should be ready for a first flight “in the 2024 timeframe.”

While each Crew Dragon or cargo Dragon mission requires a new trunk section, which is jettisoned prior to reentry, the capsule itself is designed for multiple flights. “About 15 flights is what we’re targeting right now,” she said.

And by the time these need to be replaced, Starship should be flying.