Dragon COTS 2+ - Falcon 9 v1.0 - Canaveral SLC-40 - 22.05.2012 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150912915765131&set=a.10150303260090131.563831.353851465130&type=1&theater
2 ноября

SpaceX
Latest pic of our COTS 2 Demo Dragon undergoing launch prep at our hangar in Cape Canaveral--go Dragon GO!

[Потусторонний]

Рядом драконо-хеллоунское фото
SpaceX - Happy Halloween! Quite possibly the most awesome costumes ever:

Dragon has arrived! Our COTS 2 Demo Dragon is now in the hangar at our Cape Canaveral launch pad in preparation for launch--go Dragon GO!

[LG]

Рядом драконо-хеллоунское фото
SpaceX - Happy Halloween! Quite possibly the most awesome costumes ever:

Dragon has arrived! Our COTS 2 Demo Dragon is now in the hangar at our Cape Canaveral launch pad in preparation for launch--go Dragon GO!

К сожалению нет фоток изнутри. Например пультов.

[Потусторонний]

К сожалению нет фоток изнутри. Например пультов.

А внутри Прогресса пульты есть? Я внутри АТV видел маленький пульт из трех-пяти тумблеров и вентилей. Возможно он копия Прогрессовского.

[LG]

К сожалению нет фоток изнутри. Например пультов.

А внутри Прогресса пульты есть? Я внутри АТV видел маленький пульт из трех-пяти тумблеров и вентилей. Возможно он копия Прогрессовского.

Есть

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26616.msg826499#msg826499

interesting comment from twitter

SpaceX says they will fly COTS 2 on 1/7/2012

edit:henderson is talking at a museum I guess

Listening to Scott Henderson (SpaceX) presentation at the USAF Museum.

[Потусторонний]

Чтото я сомневаюсь - нигде, кроме твиттера нет :?

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2011/11/17/06.xml&headline=SpaceX%20Demo%20Flight%20To%20ISS%20May%20Slip

SpaceX Demo Flight To ISS May Slip[/size]

Nov 17, 2011
 
By Mark Carreau

HOUSTON — Though tentatively targeted for early January, the NASA-sponsored Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) cargo resupply demonstration mission of the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station could slip a little later into the new year.

"I think January is pretty aggressive," Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, said following presentations on the status of the six-year-old cargo initiative before the American Astronautical Society national conference here Nov. 15. "At the end of this month, we will know better."

Nonetheless, 2012 promises to be a year for major strides by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp., representatives from the two COTS participants told the aerospace gathering.

During the SpaceX demonstration mission, the Dragon spacecraft will attempt to rendezvous with the space station, allowing the U.S. crewmembers to grapple and berth the supply craft using Canadarm2.

The mission's timing will depend on the outcome of NASA's SpaceX flight software assessments to identify potential hazards posed by two Orbcomm data-relay satellites carried by the Falcon 9 as secondary payloads and possible impingements of Dragon thruster firings on the station's outstretched solar panels, Lindenmoyer says.

In addition, NASA intends to brief its Russian partners on the SpaceX mission strategy before signing off on the flight, according to Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations.

Plans for a January liftoff from Cape Canaveral AFS are subject to change depending on the software test results and outcome of discussions with Russia, Gerstenmaier said from Moscow, where he was following the Nov. 16 docking of the Soyuz TMA-22 crew with the space station.[/size]

[Salo]

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

TBD   COTS SpaceX Demo-2/3

[Salo]

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=39212

NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 29 November 2011[/size]

In preparation of tomorrow's scheduled CUCU (COTS UHF Communications Unit) software & Dragon CCP (Crew Command Panel) firmware update, Burbank installed a USB thumb drive (#60) and readied a blank CD (#1675) in SSC-10 (Station Support Computer 10). The ground then uplinked a software patch and burned it on the CD. [New software, version R3.2, will be loaded into the CUCU from a DVD delivered on ULF7 and a patch from the thumb drive. CUCU is the SpaceX avionics box that is used for space-to-space communication with "Dragon" during rendezvous. CUCU contains two completely redundant strings, and each string needs a software update to the RIO (Remote Input/Output (RIO) control modules, the radio and the 1553 card. In addition, the firmware on the CCP will need to be updated for both the primary and spare CCP. The software update is done with a T61p laptop that will be booted to the Linux operating system from the ULF7 DVD. After the software load, MCC-X (SpaceX's Control Center in Hawthorne, CA) will be doing some checkouts of the box and then Dan Burbank will do a checkout of both CCPs. Background: The originally planned Demo 2 & 3 missions have been merged. For the new "Dragon" Combined Demo, "Commanding from ISS" via the CCP will be demonstrated while the spacecraft flies 2.5 km under the ISS.][/size]

[Димитър]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

Jan. 7 - Falcon 9  •  Dragon C2
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second Dragon spacecraft, called Dragon C2. The mission will demonstrate rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station in a test flight named COTS 2.

February - Taurus 2  •  Demo
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
The first Orbital Sciences Taurus 2 rocket will launch a simulated Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration flight.

May 1 - Taurus 2  •  Cygnus 1
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
The Orbital Sciences Taurus 2 rocket will launch the first Cygnus cargo freighter on a test flight to the International Space Station.

July 1 - Falcon 9  •  Dragon C3
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third Dragon spacecraft, called Dragon C3. The mission will be the first operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract.

[Salo]

Только вот:
http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

TBD COTS SpaceX Demo-2/3

А здесь:
http://fdfhome.gsfc.nasa.gov/fdinfo_Launch_2012.html

COTS 2/3 12.01.12,  а CRS1 9.08.12.

[Димитър]

COTS 2/3 12.01.12,  а CRS1 9.08.12.

Может пуски еще дальше уйдут - не впервые.  
Все ровно немного осталось. Уверен, что до конца 2012 полетят и Дракон, и Лебедь.

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/venture_space/120111-pared-funding-for-space-taxis-ups-ante-for-spacex-test-flight.html

Thu, 1 December, 2011
Pared Funding for Space Taxis Ups Ante for SpaceX Test Flight [/size]
By Irene Klotz
   
 CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is counting on a successful trial run to the international space station early next year to clinch a tightening competition to develop a commercial space taxi for NASA.

 With a hoped-for commercial crew budget of $850 million for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, NASA said it planned to continue development work on two or more space taxi designs, in hopes of breaking Russia's post-shuttle monopoly on station crew transportation before the end of 2016.

 But the agency received $406 million for commercial crew, less than half its request, raising the prospect that either the number of companies funded in the next round of the program would be cut, or the amounts awarded would be insufficient to keep the current schedule. Currently, NASA is investing in four companies: SpaceX, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp. and Blue Origin.

 "We are still reviewing the budget, its impacts and how we will respond, but meeting our target of having commercial crew capabilities up and running by the middle of this decade is unlikely with the current funding," Ed Mango, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program at the Kennedy Space Center, wrote in an email to Space News.

 NASA planned to release a solicitation for the program's Integrated Design Contract (IDC) this month. The contract or contracts are slated to begin in July 2012 and conclude in April 2014, a draft request for proposals issued in September shows.

 Before selection is made, SpaceX, which debuted its Dragon cargo capsule during a test flight last December, plans to fly a demonstration mission to the station. It also may have flown the first of 12 supply runs already purchased by NASA under a related program.

 "I always expected that for the next phase, NASA would down-select from four (companies) to two and that the two would probably be Boeing and SpaceX. Given the lower funding for commercial crew, I'm not sure if NASA still intends to down-select to two or not. If they down-select to one, I think we've got a better than even chance of beating Boeing because of the maturity of our spacecraft," SpaceX chief executive and chief technical officer Elon Musk said in an interview with Space News.

 "We will have flown to the space station probably twice by the time the commercial crew decision is awarded, and the design of our spacecraft is very similar between cargo and crew, so I think from a risk standpoint, SpaceX is the lowest risk and will be the most proven path to success for commercial crew," Musk said.

 SpaceX currently employs about 1,600 people, including about 70 in Florida. The company is looking for a second launch pad either at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station or one of the space shuttle launch pads at Kennedy, and expects its Florida payroll to include about 1,000 people within four- to five years, depending on NASA and other awards.

 "I'm highly confident that the commercial space industry will employ more than the government space industry ever did," Musk said.

 The company is awaiting NASA technical reviews for its second demonstration flight, which could include a berthing at the space station.

 "From a SpaceX standpoint, we're ready to go in December, but we have to coordinate that with NASA and any other missions that are going to the space station. What I've heard through the grapevine is that NASA is maybe aiming for a February launch," Musk said. "We're not going to launch until we're ready and until NASA thinks we're ready."[/size]

[Salo]

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.rss.html?pid=39233

CUCU Clarification: Yesterday's software upload for the CUCU (COTS UHF Communications Unit), which the ground successfully checked out, supports the first SpaceX Dragon Demo flight early next year. The Combined Demo, which would merge Demo 2 & Demo 3, mentioned in yesterday's report, continues to be under study and has not yet been approved for implementation. Yesterday's planned firmware update and checkout of the two CCPs (Crew Command Panels) has been deferred due to insufficient time. They will be required for the Dryden frequency test - which currently has frequency clearance issues. [Currently the soonest the delayed Dryden frequency test can be performed is 12/6, followed by 30 days in which the test can be performed, to support the SpaceX Demo-1 flight, planned for early 2012.][/size]

[Salo]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/12/spacex-dragon-flight-slipping-further-combined-approval/

SpaceX Dragon ISS flight to slip further, pending combined mission approval[/size]
December 5th, 2011 by Chris Bergin

SpaceX's Dragon demonstration flight to the International Space Station (ISS) is understood to be moving into the February/March timeframe, while approval for the combination of the C2/C3 (D2/D3) missions – which would result in Dragon arriving at the orbital outpost – is still pending official approval from NASA and the ISS partners.

SpaceX Dragon Mission:

A final decision to combine the second and third of three planned Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flights (C2 and C3 – otherwise known as D2 and D3) for SpaceX's Dragon capsule still hasn't been made, as much as it's been due for several weeks.

An actual official decision – and announcement – on combining the two flights, resulting a mission which will see the first commercial spacecraft to arrive at the Space Station, will be made by Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Bill Gersteinmaier.



Several challenges have been – or continue to be – evaluated, such as the series of software updates that have been planned for the ISS, which will enable the station to support the new commercial vehicles at the outpost.

Mr Gersteinmaier did note that SpaceX had delivered the final update version of their software for NASA evaluation, during the Soyuz TMA-22 post-docking media briefing in Russia.

Ironically, the Russian partners have been more than cautious with Dragon's debut arrival, first noting concerns with the "performance data" – supplied to them from the COTS 1 flight – as much as it appears the issue was with the amount of information they gained, as opposed to any problems with the data.

Click here for recent SpaceX News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/

This concern had apparently subsided, with claims Roscosmos and RSC Energia "stakeholders" had signed their preliminary approval for the arrival of the SpaceX vehicle at the orbital outpost, specific to their previous concerns with the data.

However, sources note the Russians still have misgivings about Dragon arriving at the ISS, claiming Roscosmos spoke with Mr Gersteinmaier recently, requesting Dragon mirrors the same approach points as the European ATV and Japanese HTV carried out in their first flights to ISS.

This should not provide a major problem, given Dragon's rendezvous is understood to closely follow the approach profile used with the HTV. It is also not known just how much power the Russians have over a US spacecraft arriving at the US section of the ISS, as much as NASA sources confirm the Russians are being very "hands on" with the approval process.

Regardless, the overall opinion continues to point to an approval for the joint mission being close, as much as this has been the claim for almost the last two months.

One key element which would have been a natural schedule problem for Dragon has now been removed, with the Russian Progress and Soyuz vehicles back into nominal flight ops, following the successful launch and docking of both vehicles since the Progress 44P failure.

Indeed, even the ISS status reports have shown optimism on an official green light for Dragon's flight to the ISS, with crewmembers – NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin – preparing for what the reports listed as a merged mission at one point.

"CDR Dan Burbank pre-gathered required hardware items of the CUCU (COTS UHF Communications Unit) and restowed it in Node 2 for the upcoming (11/30) Combined Demo software update and checkout, which will involve the CUCU software and SpaceX "Dragon" CCP (Crew Command Panel) firmware, followed by a checkout of the changes," noted the November 28 ISS Status report.

"(For the new Dragon Combined Demo (Demo 2 & 3 being merged), "Commanding from ISS" via the CCP will be demonstrated while the spacecraft flies 2.5 km under the ISS.)"

The first report in December, however, backtracked from the "merged" statement, as software work continued on the ISS.

"The software upload for the CUCU (COTS UHF Communications Unit), which the ground successfully checked out, supports the first SpaceX Dragon Demo flight early next year. The Combined Demo, which would merge Demo 2 & Demo 3, mentioned in (previous) report, continues to be under study and has not yet been approved for implementation."



All three crewmembers previously got their hands on the hardware associated with the CUCU during a visit to SpaceX back in September. However, Dragon requires two trained crewmembers to berth it, with Dan Burbank the only crewmember currently aboard ISS who has completed the training, meaning Dragon's arrival will require Don Pettit or his backup to arrive on the next Soyuz, scheduled to launch later this month.

Dragon will also be challenged even if the combined mission proceeds as a merged flight, with the requirement for every C2 demo objective to receive the joint confirmation from SpaceX controllers and NASA controllers – the latter located at the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston.



Any in-flight anomalies during the C2 phase of the flight be presented to MCC-Houston and thoroughly resolved by SpaceX's Mission Control in California.

As previously reported, Dragon's debut arrival has already received a level of cargo manifesting, with an ISS stowage status update providing some insight into how the ISS will make use of the mission.

"Cargo Delivered: Actual cargo growth unclear due to immature manifests; vehicle spacing could increase and impact manifests,"  noted the commercial page of the October presentation acquired by L2.

"SpaceX Demo: capability (50 CTBE – Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalent) vs manifest (41 CTBE). Launching empty bags (18 CTBE of the 41) to facilitate maximum disposal capability for SpaceX and Orbital demo flights. Manifest complement is food and crew provisions. PLs and Vehicle launch allocations not utilized."

However, there hasn't been any word of late on the plan for the secondary payloads, which relates to an agreement to launch 18 ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) satellites as early as the fourth quarter of 2010 through 2014. The delivery of the second-generation satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was set to be carried out on the Falcon 1e launch vehicle.

SpaceX – working to further maximize the cost-effectiveness of their COTS/CRS missions – decided to include the additional payloads as passengers on the Falcon 92s second stage, allowing them to be deployed after the Dragon separates from the Falcon 9.

It is currently understood that two ORBCOMM satellites will ride uphill with Falcon 9 during the C2/C3 flight, which caused ISS managers some interest from the standpoint of a potential collision risk with the ISS. As such, NASA noted the use of their experienced Monte Carlo analysis methods to clear this concern. No further information has been noted since.[/size]

[Salo]

С первой страницы:

Космос-3794, добавьте Orbcomm в заглавие. Да и дата пуска пока 14 апреля.

ЗЫ: Ох рановато тему завели. :roll:  :lol:

[Reader]

Показательный полет Дракона SpaceX's к Международной Космической станции (ISS), как понимают, перемещается в период февраля/марта

Добрая, хоть и неофициальная весть!
Спасибо за ссылку тов. Salo!

[Потусторонний]

можно сравнить процедуру сближения Demo2/3 с процедурой сближения HTV-2

[Salo]

Показательный полет Дракона SpaceX's к Международной Космической станции (ISS), как понимают, перемещается в период февраля/марта

Добрая, хоть и неофициальная весть!
Спасибо за ссылку тов. Salo!

Рад стараться, Ваше высокоблагородие! :wink:  :lol: