[Osmium]

> we could've hypothetically saved the payload.

As I understand it, the primary payload (the new international docking adaptor for the ISS) wasn't in the Dragon capsule itself, so it wouldn't have been saved even if the Dragon was recovered (sadly).

[grecy]

If it wasn't in dragon, how was it going to get to the ISS?

[Osmium]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear–it is in the Dragon, but it's not in the pressurised 'nose' part (which I believe is the part that's jettisoned in an emergency, but I'm not actually sure about that? perhaps I'm wrong). Instead, it was in the unpressurised 'trunk'.

See this image: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Z8...

"Dragon also will use its unpressurized trunk to deliver the first International Docking Adapter to enable future commercial crew vehicles to dock to the station."

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_...

They've previously used the trunk for a payload on CRS-2, CRS-3 and CRS-5. You can see a video of how it works in CRS-5 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXfOOIYWGF8

(Really cool video by the way!)

[0xffff2]

The trunk does come with the capsule during launch abort for Dragon 2. It has fins on it to provide aerodynamic stabilization during the abort.

However, the trunk is later jettisoned, so only the capsule is recovered in the end.

http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/padabortinfographic...