SpaceX’s cupola is in orbit again. The company first used the dome-shaped window on its Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. And now a cupola-equipped Crew Dragon has just launched from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying four private astronauts to a polar orbit on the Fram2 mission.
The glass dome — at 2,000 square inches the largest single window ever to have flown to space — offers Crew Dragon passengers panoramic views of Earth and beyond. However, as the window replaces the docking port, the cupola-equipped Crew Dragon can only be used for missions that don’t involve rendezvousing with the International Space Station (ISS).
Shortly after the Fram2 mission launched on Monday, SpaceX shared a short video telling us more about the cupola. You can watch it below:
In the video, SpaceX engineer Ben Kolodner said, “When we started thinking about the cupola, it’s more than just another window in space — it’s an extension of the Dragon spacecraft. So … it has to have the same feel and aura as the actual Dragon spacecraft.”
The cupola is made from acrylic and polycarbonate, and also includes a special coating that helps to regulate interior temperatures. SpaceX engineer Samantha Hilton noted that the cupola comprises three different layers, with the outer one offering protection against debris like micrometeorites, the middle one acting as the pressure pane, and the inner layer offering protection against actions by the crew.
“The Earth all around you, the stars, sunrise, sunset — getting up in there and looking out is a one-of-a-kind experience,” Kolodner said.
Besides the Fram2 and Inspiration4 missions, the cupola has flown one other time, on last year’s Polaris Dawn mission. The cupola even opened up, allowing Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman to emerge from the Crew Dragon to conduct the first-ever commercial spacewalk.