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Race is on to lure new SpaceX launchpad - 0 views

phys.org/...-06-lure-spacex-launchpad.html

scibyte52 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 22 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • A record-breaking mission to the International Space Station has triggered another space race back on Earth, with Florida competing against Texas and Puerto Rico for the chance to land a new launchpad for Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, and its ambitious line of Falcon rockets.
  • none of the rivals has made public the incentives each is offering, the numbers are certain to be in the millions of dollars.
  • The stakes are high: hundreds of good-paying jobs at SpaceX and supporting companies that would pop up around its operation, as well as the prestige - at a time when NASA is no longer flying its own rockets - of serving as home to the commercial space industry's most successful startup.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Musk met last week with Texas Gov. Rick Perry to discuss locating a launchpad at the southernmost tip of the Lone Star State.
  • SpaceX has not disclosed what incentives it has been offered or the timing of its decision
  • Musk recently indicated that Texas might have the inside track
  • Florida officials acknowledge the competition is keen. They're hoping to leverage the fact that SpaceX already has one launchpad at Cape Canaveral
  • SpaceX officials said the one Florida pad isn't enough to handle both its government work and flights for commercial customers
  • d a deal with Intelsat, a major satellite operator, for a future launch aboard a massive new rocket that is still under developmen
  • manifest already shows more than a half-dozen commercial flights through 2014 in which SpaceX will carry satellites to orbit.
  • Florida officials also note they have a track record of helping the company. Space Florida, the state's aerospace booster, has invested more than $8.5 million so far to help establish the company at Cape Canaveral.
  • Florida faces one obstacle that has no immediate solution. The Air Force and NASA already use Cape Canaveral for launches - of government satellites and space probes - and SpaceX at times could be forced to wait its turn until the range is clear.
  • autonomous as possible, having
  • Puerto Rican officials are making geography a core argument in their pitch.
  • Puerto Rico is closer to the equator than Cape Canaveral or Brownsville, which means SpaceX rockets would use less fuel (and thus cost less to launch to orbit) because rockets get more of a "boost" from Earth's rotation near the equator.
Mars Base

SpaceX's First Mission to the Space Station: How It Will Work | Dragon COTS 2/3 Flight ... - 0 views

www.space.com/agon-space-station-flight.html

scibyte47 SpaceX iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 16 May 12 - No Cached
  • SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule is due to deliver food, supplies and science experiments
  • SpaceX is one of two companies with NASA contracts for robotic cargo delivery flights (Virginia's Orbital Technologies Corp. is the other), but is the first to actually try a launch
  • Here's how the robotic mission is expected to play out:
  • ...50 more annotations...
  • Step 1: Launch
  • from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX has use of the facility's Space Launch Complex 40
  • The initial ascent is powered by Falcon 9's first stage, consisting of nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines
  • Step 2: Main Engine Cut Off/Stage Separation
  • At a little before 180 seconds into the flight, the Falcon 9's first stage engines will cut off, and the first stage will drop off, falling back to Earth
  • the booster's second stage engines should start, further propelling the vehicle into orbit.
  • Step 3: Payload Separation
  • Around 9 minutes into the flight, the Dragon capsule should separate from Falcon 9's second stage and orbit on its own
  • capsule will deploy its solar arrays to start soaking up energy from the sun
  • Dragon is on its own and must maneuver using its onboard thrusters
  • Step 4: Orbital Checkouts
  • Dragon will begin a series of checkouts to make sure it's functioning as designed and ready to meet up with the station
  • test out its abort system to prove it can terminate its activities and move away from the space station if something goes wrong.
  • demonstrate its performance in free drift phase, with thrusters inhibited
  • Teams on the ground will lead the vehicle through tests of
  • Absolute GPS (AGPS) system, which uses global positioning system satellites to determine its location in space
  • Step 5: Fly-Under
  • fire its thrusters to perform a fly-under of the International Space Station
  • to 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) below the outpost
  • make radio contact with the station using a system called the COTS Ultra?high frequency Communication Unit to communicate.
  • Dragon will also test a secondary locator system called the relative GPS system, which uses the spacecraft's position relative to the space station to establish its coordinates
  • the six-person crew inside the orbiting laboratory will be monitoring their new visitor
  • use a crew command panel onboard the station to communicate with the capsule and send it a command to turn on a strobe light.
  • After completing the fly-under, Dragon will loop out in front, above and then behind the space station to position itself for docking.
  • Step 6: Rendezvous
  • during Dragon's fourth day of flight, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters again to bring it within 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) of the space station
  • there, NASA's Mission Control team in Houston will run through a "go-no go" call to confirm all teams are ready for rendezvous
  • If everyone is "go," Dragon will inch closer, to about 820 feet (250 meters) away from the space station.
  • series of final checkouts will be performed to make sure all of Dragon's location and navigation systems are accurate
  • If all looks good, Dragon's SpaceX control team on the ground will command the vehicle to approach the space station
  • When it reaches 720 feet (220 meters), the astronauts onboard the outpost will command the capsule to halt.
  • After another series of "go-no go" checks
  • approach to 656 feet (200 meters), and then 98 feet (30 meters), and finally 32 feet (10 meters), the capture point.
  • Step 7: Docking
  • Mission Control will tell the space station crew they are "go" for capturing Dragon
  • astronaut Don Pettit will use the station's robotic arm to reach out and grab Dragon, pulling it in to the bottom side of the lab's Harmony node, and then attaching it.
  • The next day, after more checkouts, the crew will open the hatch between Dragon and the station.
  • Over the coming weeks, the astronauts will spend about 25 hours unpacking the 1,014 pounds (460 kilograms) of cargo that Dragon delivers
  • none of the cargo is critical (since this is a test flight),
  • capsule will arrive bearing food, water, clothing and supplies for the crew.
  • Step 8: Undocking
  • Dragon is due to spend about 18 days docked at the International Space Station.
  • the station astronauts will use the robotic arm to maneuver the capsule out to about 33 feet (10 meters) away, then release it. Dragon will then use its thrusters to fly a safe distance away from the laboratory.
  • Step 9: Re-entry
  • About four hours after departing the space station, Dragon will fire its engines to make what's called a de-orbit burn
  • will set the capsule on a course for re-entry through Earth's atmosphere
  • spacecraft is equipped with a heat shield to protect it from the fiery temperatures of its 7-minute re-entry flight.
  • Step 10: Landing
  • due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean to end its mission
  • There, recovery crews will be waiting to collect the capsule about 250 miles (450 kilometers) off the West Coast of the United States
  • Mars Base on 21 May 12
     
    Mission Overview
Mars Base

SpaceX May Try to Launch Private Spacecraft Tuesday | SpaceX Dragon | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/-space-capsule-launch-2nd.html

scibyte47 SpaceX PrivateSpaceTravel iss

shared by Mars Base on 21 May 12 - No Cached
  • engine glitch on its Falcon 9 rocket in the last second before liftoff forced an abort
  • Engineers traced the issue to a failed check valve in the engine,
  • Mars Base on 21 May 12
     
    SpaceX Hopes to Launch Private Spacecraft to Space Station Tuesday
Mars Base

SpaceX Successfully Completes First Mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit | SpaceX - 0 views

www.spacex.com/...n-geostationary-transfer-orbit

scibyte111 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 04 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • December 03, 2013
  • SpaceX
  • completed its first geostationary transfer mission, delivering the SES-8 satellite to its targeted 295 x 80,000 km orbit
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • launch pad and the first commercial flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in over five years
  • SpaceX has nearly 50 launches on manifest, of which over 60% are for commercial customers
  • This launch also marks the second of three certification flights needed to certify the Falcon 9 to fly missions for the U.S. Air Force under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program
  • When Falcon 9 is certified, SpaceX will be eligible to compete for all National Security Space (NSS) missions
Mars Base

How the Air Force and SpaceX Saved Dragon from Doom - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...-spacex-saved-dragon-from-doom

scibyte89 dragon

shared by Mars Base on 04 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Barely 11 minutes after I witnessed the spectacular March 1 blastoff of the Dragon atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • contact had been lost
  • Right after spacecraft separation in low Earth orbit , a sudden and unexpected failure of the Dragon’s critical thrust pods had prevented three out of four from initializing and firing
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • The oxidizer pressure was low in three tanks. And the propulsion system is required to orient the craft for two way communication and to propel the Dragon to the orbiting lab complex
  • The problem was a very tiny change to the check valves that serve the oxidizer tanks
  • Three of the check valves were actually different from the prior check valves that had flown – in a very tiny way. Because of the tiny change they got stuck
  • able to write some new software in real time and upload that to Dragon to build pressure upstream of the check valves and then released that pressure- to give it a kind of a kick
  • that got the valves unstuck and then they worked well
  • difficulty communicating with the spacecraft because it was in free drift in orbit
  • worked closely with the Air Force to get higher intensity, more powerful dishes to communicate with the spacecraft and upload the software
  • there had been a small design change to the check valves by the supplier
  • supplier had made mistakes that we didn’t catch
  • You would need a magnifying glass to see the difference
  • SpaceX had run the new check valves through a series of low pressurization systems tests and they worked well and didn’t get stuck. But SpaceX had failed to run the functional tests at higher pressures
  • SpaceX will revert to the old check valves and run tests to make sure this failure doesn’t happen again
Mars Base

SpaceX Aborts Thanksgiving Rocket Launch Due to Engine Trouble | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/hanksgiving-rocket-launch.html

scibyte111 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 01 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired its engines and was moments away from liftoff from Cape Canaveral
  • but the commercial booster aborted the launch after computers detected the engines were too slow building up thrust.
  • Engineers raced to understand and resolve the problem, but they could not get comfortable enough to attempt the launch again
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Officials had not announced a new target launch date
  • SpaceX was targeting liftoff of the 22-story rocket at 5:39 p.m. EST (2239 GMT) Thursday, aiming to achieve the first Thanksgiving Day launch from Florida's Space Coast since 1959
  • The launch was pushed back to Thursday after multiple technical problems thwarted an initial launch attempt Monday
  • The rocket's mission is to place the SES 8 television broadcasting satellite into orbit
  • e highest altitude ever achieved by a SpaceX launch.
  • the flight is critical to SpaceX's future in the commercial launch market, in which it competes against stalwart launch vehicles from Europe and Russia to haul large telecommunications satellites into orbit.
  • The Falcon 9 pressurized its propellant tanks, switched to internal power and ignited its nine Merlin 1D first stage engines a few seconds before the appointed launch time
  • the Falcon 9's computer-controlled countdown sequencer recognized a problem and called off the launch
  • As engineers continued to study the problem, SpaceX elected to restart the countdown to preserve a chance to launch Thursday
  • Ultimately, however, SpaceX said they could not get comfortable with the issue in time and ordered another hold with less than a minute left in the day's second countdown.
Mars Base

SpaceX Launches Six Commercial Satellites on Falcon 9; Landing Test Ends in "Kaboom" - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...-9-landing-test-ends-in-kaboom

scibyte136 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 15 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • SpaceX successfully launched six ORBCOMM advanced telecommunications satellites into orbit on Monday, July 14, to significantly upgrade the speed and capacity of their existing data relay network.
  • SpaceX also used this launch opportunity to try and test the reusability of the Falcon 9′s first stage and its landing system while splashing down in the ocean
  • However, the booster did not survive the splashdown. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reported that the rocket booster reentry, landing burn and leg deployment worked well, the hull of the first stage “lost integrity right after splashdown
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Musk tweeted. “Detailed review of rocket telemetry needed to tell if due to initial splashdown or subsequent tip over and body slam.”
  • SpaceX wanted to test the “flyback” ability to the rocket, slowing down the descent of the rocket with thrusters and deploying the landing legs for future launches so the first stage can be re-used
  • The previous test of the landing system was successful, but the choppy seas destroyed the stage and prevented recovery
  • the six satellites launched
  • are the first part of what the company hopes will be a 17-satellite constellation. They hope to have all 17 satellites in orbit by the end of the 2014
Mars Base

Easter Sunday Space Station Rendezvous and Berthing for SpaceX Dragon Freighter Succees... - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...ng-for-spacex-dragon-freighter

scibyte127 iss dragon

shared by Mars Base on 20 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • The SpaceX 3 Dragon commercial cargo freighter successfully arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Easter Sunday morning, April 20
  • The mission is the company’s third cargo delivery flight to the station.
  • The Dragon vehicle loaded with nearly 2.5 tons of science experiments
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Dragon will remain attached to the station until May 18
  • There are over 150 science experiments loaded aboard the Dragon capsule for research to be conducted by the crews of ISS Expeditions 39 and 40
  • CRS-3 mission will deliver some 5000 pounds of science experiments
  • a pair of hi tech legs for Robonaut 2
  • a high definition Earth observing imaging camera suite (HDEV)
  • a laser optical communications experiment (OPALS) and essential gear
  • the VEGGIE lettuce growing experiment
  • spare parts, crew provisions, food, clothing and supplies to the six person crews
Mars Base

SpaceX Signs Pact To Start Rocket Testing At NASA Stennis - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...rocket-testing-at-nasa-stennis

scibyte108 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 01 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • SpaceX
  • has signed a contract to research, develop and test Raptor methane rocket engines at the NASA Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi
  • plans to use the E-2 test stand at Stennis, which is able to support both vertical and horizontal rocket engine tests
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • A press release from his office said the presence of the private space company would boost jobs in the region
  • There’s little information on SpaceX’s website about what the Raptor engine is or specific development plans
  • Space News reports that it would be used for deep-space missions
  • SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has mentioned the engine previously when talking about Mars missions, according to multiple media reports
  • test the whole engine at Stennis
  • the first phase starts with the components
  • E-2 stand at Stennis is big enough for components, but we would need a bigger stand for the whole Raptor
  • reportedly hashing out a Space Act agreement to establish user fees and other parameters
  • Once that’s finished, the testing will begin, perhaps as early as next year
  • SpaceX currently does most of its rocket testing in Texas
Mars Base

Satellite Left Stranded by SpaceX Rocket Falls From Space | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/ded-satellite-falls-space.html

scibyte67 Orbcomm

shared by Mars Base on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Orbcomm
  • satellite, launched Oct. 7 into a bad orbit by a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket
  • provided enough data to proceed with the launch of the full constellation starting next year.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • In its statement, Orbcomm suggested that i
  • had enough access to the satellite in less than four days in orbit to validate the performance of its major subsystems.
  • Orbcomm said that, had its satellite been the primary payload on SpaceX’s Oct. 7 flight, the mission would have been a success
  • OG2 satellite bus systems including power, attitude control, thermal and data handling were also tested to verify proper operation
  • The solar array and communications antenna deployments were successful
  • Orbcomm requested that SpaceX carry one of their small satellites
  • few hundred pounds, vs. Dragon at over 12,000 pounds
  • on this flight so that they could gather test data before we launch their full constellation next year.
  • The higher the orbit, the more test data they can gather, so they requested that we attempt to restart and raise altitude
  • NASA agreed to allow that, but only on condition that there be substantial propellant reserves, since the orbit would be close to the space station
  • Orbcomm understood from the beginning that the orbit-raising maneuver was tentative
  • They accepted that there was a high risk of their satellite remaining at the Dragon insertion orbit.
Mars Base

Delay Likely for SpaceX's Private Launch to Space Station | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/pace-capsule-launch-delay.html

scibyte45 SpaceX iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 03 May 12 - No Cached
  • : 02 May 2012
  • SpaceX was targeting the launch for Monday, May 7, but now will likely shift to a later date, possibly May 10
  • "At this time, a May 7th launch appears unlikely," SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham wrote in a statement. "SpaceX is continuing to work through the software assurance process with NASA. We will issue a statement as soon as a new launch target is set.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The flight was previously delayed from an April 30 launch date to allow more time for tests of Dragon's flight software. The new delay is also meant to allow for further checkouts.
Mars Base

SpaceX Engineers Race to Repair Engines for May 22 Launch - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...pair-engines-for-may-22-launch

scibyte47 SpaceX PrivateSpaceTravel iss

shared by Mars Base on 21 May 12 - No Cached
  • Mars Base on 21 May 12
     
    SpaceX Engineers Race to Repair Engines for May 22 Launch
Mars Base

SpaceX Launching Student Experiments & Emblems on ISS Flight | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/aunch-student-experiments.html

scibyte47 SpaceX dragon iss PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 17 May 12 - No Cached
  • then the 15 experiments comprising "Aquarius"
  • will be among the first payloads delivered to the station on a commercial cargo craft.
  • competition among students to fly experiments
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • to design their mission patches
  • A total of 779 student teams submitted proposals for the 15 science slots and nearly 5,000 students offered 2,299 insignia ideas from which just 22 were chosen.
  • Ironically, none of the almost two dozen student mission patches that were selected to fly depict the vehicle that their experiments are riding on.
  • The designs, which range from crayon-colored creations to computer-assisted drawings, also include representations of the Earth, moon and Mars and the American flag.
  • Aquarius, which utilizes liquid mixing tube assemblies that function similar to commercial glow sticks
  • two similar student flight opportunities
  • on NASA's final two space shuttle missions
  • was first slated to fly on a Soyuz spacecraft.
  • When the students' experiments were re-manifested, they went from launching on the Russian rocket to the SpaceX Dragon.
  • The Aquarius package will stay in space for just under six weeks before coming back to Earth on Soyuz TMA-03M, the same spacecraft returning three ISS crew members on July 1.
  • The students' patches will also make the round trip, and will be embossed with a certification stating that they flew in space.
Mars Base

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Splashes Down in Pacific, Ending Historic Test Flight | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/n-capsule-landing-pacific.html

scibyte49 SpaceX dragon PrivateSpaceTravel

shared by Mars Base on 01 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • SpaceX Dragon capsule made a water landing off the coast of Baja California, Mexico at 11:42 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT)
  • began its return to Earth in earnest at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT) with a nine minute, 50 second de-orbit engine burn.
Mars Base

SpaceX company fixes Dragon capsule problem - 0 views

phys.org/...ny-dragon-capsule-problem.html

scibyte84 dragon

shared by Mars Base on 02 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • The problem may have been caused by a stuck valve or a line blockage
  • An hour later, the Dragon was raised with the thrusters to a safe altitude.
  • It was the first serious trouble to strike a Dragon in orbit.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • None of the four previous unmanned flights had any thruster issues
  • appeared to be a glitch versus a major concern.
  • Engineers for both SpaceX and NASA plan an exhaustive study before allowing the rendezvous to take place.
  • fresh fruit as well for the six station astronauts
  • Falcon 9 rocket performed "really perfectly" and that the thruster problem was isolated to the Dragon
  • On the previous flight in October, one of nine first-stage engines on the Falcon rocket shut down too soon
  • The capsule is designed to return to Earth with just two good sets of thrusters and, in "a super worst case situation," conceivably just one although it would be "a bit of a wobbly trip."
  • The newest Dragon is scheduled to spend more than three weeks at the space station before being cut loose by the crew
  • SpaceX plans to launch its next Dragon to the station in late fall.
Mars Base

SpaceX Dragon Recovers from Frightening Propulsion System Failure - Sunday Docking Set - 0 views

www.universetoday.com/...tem-failure-sunday-docking-set

scibyte84 dragon

shared by Mars Base on 03 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • By late Saturday afternoon sufficient recovery work had been accomplished to warrant NASA, ISS and SpaceX managers to give the go-ahead for the Dragon to rendezvous with the station early Sunday morning, March 3.
  • despite the one-day docking delay, the Dragon unberthing and parachute assisted return to Earth will still be the same day as originally planned on March 25.
  • There are numerous docking opportunities available in the coming days if SpaceX and NASA determined that more time was needed to gain confidence that Dragon could safely carry out an attempt.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • the Dragon could stay on orbit for several additional months if needed
Mars Base

Station-Bound Dragon Spacecraft's Mission Patch Unveiled | | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/ace-capsule-mission-patch.html

scibyte66 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 05 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • The first of NASA's contracted cargo resupply flights to the International Space Station now has its own mission patch, courtesy of the company launching the spacecraft.
  • The flight, referred to as Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1), is the first of a dozen resupply flights for which NASA is paying SpaceX $1.6 billion to fly.
  • The CRS-1 mission patch, which borrows its shape from the Dragon capsule, shows the solar-powered spacecraft grappled by the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm as it is being brought in to connect with the orbiting outpost's Harmony module
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Almost camouflaged with the patch's green-colored North American continent is a four leaf clover. The symbol for luck, the clover has become a regular feature on SpaceX's insignias since the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company's first successful Falcon 1 launch in September 2008
  • Based on pre-launch photos, the CRS-1 emblem does not appear on the Falcon 9 rocket or the Dragon capsule
  • embroidered versions of the patch may fly to the space station and back as part of the mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK) of mementos to be presented to NASA and SpaceX team members for a job well done.
Mars Base

How One Faulty Nitrogen-Purge Valve Forced SpaceX to Abort | Autopia | Wired.com - 0 views

www.wired.com/...cex-nitrogen-purge-valve-abort

scibyte47 SpaceX PrivateSpaceTravel iss

shared by Mars Base on 22 May 12 - No Cached
  • SpaceX engineers were able to trace the high-pressure problem to a valve that controls the flow of nitrogen used to purge the engine before ignition
  • check valve that allows the nitrogen purge prior to ignition in the Merlin engine was stuck open just before launch
  • stuck valve allowed “liquid oxygen to flow from the main injector [for the rocket engine itself] into the gas generator injector
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • stuck valve meant the liquid oxygen flowed into the gas generator injector, which led to the high pressure in engine five’s combustion chamber. The high pressure caused the flight computer to shutdown the engines, aborting the launch
  • the Falcon 9 may have been okay even if it had launched with the high pressure
Mars Base

SpaceX Replaces Faulty Rocket Valve for Space Station Flight | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/ate-rocket-engine-repairs.html

scibyte47 SpaceX PrivateSpaceTravel iss

shared by Mars Base on 21 May 12 - No Cached
  • engineers have replaced a faulty engine valve
  • aborted its launch attempt a half-second before liftoff
  • Software did what it was supposed to do, aborted engine five, and we went through the remaining engine shutdown
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Technicians went out to the rocket's launch pad at the Air Force station's Complex 40 Saturday to examine the engines for signs of the issue's root cause
  • During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine
Mars Base

Private Manned Space Capsule Passes Big Review | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/ace-capsule-design-review.html

scibyte54 SpaceX

shared by Mars Base on 14 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • The crewed version of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule has passed a key design review, moving one step closer to carrying astronauts into orbit, NASA officials announced
  • July 12).
  • company officials gave NASA details about every phase of a potential crewed Dragon mission to the International Space Station
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • outlined how it plans to modify its launch pads to support such a mission
  • discussed the Dragon capsule's docking capabilities, living arrangements, weight and power requirements and potential ground landing sites
  • designed to carry seven astronauts
  • also presented studies that showed how its launch abort system, which is known as SuperDraco, would perform if an emergency occurred shortly after liftoff
  • company told NASA how it would attempt to safeguard astronauts if something unexpected occurred on the way to orbit, in space or during the trip home
  • ready to move on to the next phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the middle of the decade
  • SpaceX is one of four companies — along with Blue Origin, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. — to receive funding over the last two years from NASA's Commercial Crew Program. CCP
  • NASA hopes at least two of these firms can have vehicles up and running by 2017
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