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

[SFN]

530 кг уже кое-что. А СМИ говорят - Дракон возит 6тонн. Наверно телекамеру грузы загораживали.
660 кг возврата на землю очень хорошо. Столько накопилось в короткую постшатловскую эпоху?

[instml]

530 кг уже кое-что. А СМИ говорят - Дракон возит 6тонн. Наверно телекамеру грузы загораживали.

Если только включая негерметичный отсек.

[SFN]

Если только включая негерметичный отсек.

Считают так  max3+max3=6.
A по красочному графику МКС первый груз в негерметичном повезут только на D-Spx2

[instml]

SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon COTS Demo 2/3 Updates (Pre-Launch)

[KBOB]

Эй! А вы чё тут делаете?[/size]



На МКС летим. 8-м будешь?[/size]

[Yutani]

Позитив! Прикольную подсветку сделали.

[instml]

Подсветка наше все, епт.

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/civil/120403-nasa-spacex-social-media-confab.html

Tue, 3 April, 2012
NASA, SpaceX To Co-host Social Media Confab During Dragon Launch[/size]
By Brian Berger

    WASHINGTON — NASA and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will invite 50 of their Twitter, Facebook and Google+ followers to a two-day event at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., expected to culminate with the April 30 Falcon 9 launch of SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule to the international space station.

    "Participants will have unique in-person experiences with SpaceX and NASA, which they are encouraged to share with others through their favorite social network," NASA and SpaceX said in an April 2 press release. "Guests will view the launch, tour NASA facilities at Kennedy, speak with representatives from both organizations, view the SpaceX launch pad, meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media, and meet members of SpaceX and NASA's social media teams."

    Participants will be selected from online registrations. Sign up opens at noon April 5 and closes at noon April 6.

    The April 30 launch is SpaceX's second and possibly final Commercial Orbital Transportation Services demonstration flight. If all goes well, the unmanned Dragon capsule will berth with the space station, setting the stage for the spacecraft to start making periodic re-supply runs to the orbital outpost under a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract NASA awarded SpaceX in 2008.

    Before Dragon is cleared to approach the space station, the spacecraft will conduct a series of checkout procedures in orbit, including a fly-under of the station at a distance of 2.5 kilometers to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous. Dragon will be required to demonstrate its ability to abort the rendezvous.

    Assuming Dragon passes these tests, the spacecraft will perform its rendezvous while astronauts inside the space station work to grapple the vehicle with the station's robotic arm. Dragon will then be berthed to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node. At the end of the mission, the crew will reverse the process, detaching Dragon for its return to Earth.

    The flight readiness review for SpaceX's upcoming mission is scheduled for April 16 at Johnson Space Center in Houston.[/size]

[SFN]

Hot fire test scheduled on April 25.

[SFN]

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=36609
NASA To Hold Briefing Previewing SpaceX Mission To Space Station

[anik]

http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/flightdata/calendar.html

DATE..........GMT................EVENT
04/16/12..........................SpaceX/COTS 2/3 flight readiness review and news conference
04/29/12...05:00:00 PM...SpaceX/COTS 2/3 L-minus-1 news conference
04/30/12...03:00:00 PM...NASA TV coverage of SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 launch begins
04/30/12...04:22:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 launch (instantaneous launch window)
04/30/12...06:00:00 PM...Post-launch news conference on NASA TV
05/02/12...10:20:00 AM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 ISS fly under (time approximate)
05/02/12...02:00:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 mission status briefing
05/03/12...12:00:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 grapple (time approximate)
05/03/12...03:00:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 berthing
05/03/12...04:00:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 mission status briefing
05/04/12..........................SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 hatch opening and ingress (time TBD)
05/20/12..........................SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 re-entry briefing
05/21/12...05:30:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 unberthing
05/21/12..........................SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 deorbit ignition
05/21/12...09:30:00 PM...SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 splashdown

[instml]

Dragon Expected to Set Historic Course

The upcoming launch of a SpaceX spacecraft and rocket on a demonstration flight to the International Space Station is expected to cross a key milestone on the path to operational, commercial missions.

"It's almost like the lead-up to Apollo, in my mind," said Mike Horkachuck, NASA's project executive for SpaceX. "You had Mercury then you had Gemini and eventually you had Apollo. This would be similar in the sense that, we're not going to the moon or anything as spectacular as that, but we are in the beginnings of commercializing space. This may be the Mercury equivalent to eventually flying crew and then eventually leading to, in the long run, passenger travel in space."

California-based Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX, is preparing to launch an ambitious mission to dock its Dragon spacecraft to the space station and return it to Earth. The spacecraft will not have a crew, but will carry about 1,200 pounds of cargo that the astronauts and cosmonauts living on the station will be able to use. The capsule will go into space atop a Falcon 9 rocket also built by SpaceX.

Because the mission is a test flight, the cargo is not material deemed critical to the crew, Horkachuck said. Launch is targeted for April 30 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, within sight of the launch pads the space shuttles used to carry the station's components into orbit. There also are several tests and reviews coming up later this month similar to those performed ahead of space shuttle missions.

If this mission is successful, the Dragon is expected to become operational and launch regular supply runs to the station. Unlike any other cargo carrier, the Dragon can bring things back to Earth, too, a boon for scientists whose research is taking place on the orbiting laboratory.

SpaceX already has two successful Falcon 9 launches to its credit, along with a history making demonstration of the Dragon capsule that in December 2010, became the first privately built and operated spacecraft to be launched to and recovered from Earth orbit.

"I think the (first demonstration) mission was more of a question mark in my mind," Horkachuck said, "because no capsule that these guys had built before had gone into space, done the basic maneuvering to show you have attitude control as well as re-entering, so knowing the vehicle came through re-entry relatively unscathed and all the parachute systems worked perfectly, that was a real big deal."

Because of that mission's achievements, NASA and SpaceX agreed to combine the planned second and third demonstration flights into one. Assuming the Dragon spacecraft passes about a few days' worth of equipment checks and demonstration in orbit, it will be allowed to approach the station close enough for astronauts to grab the Dragon with the station's large robotic arm. The arm will berth the capsule to the station and astronauts will unload the spacecraft and put about 1,400 pounds of material inside the Dragon for return to Earth.

The mission is expected to last about 21 days, Horkachuck said.

For Horkachuck, work for this mission began more than five years ago, when SpaceX and NASA signed a Space Act Agreement to work together to demonstrate they could carry cargo to the space station on a private rocket and spacecraft. NASA is sharing the cost for the demonstration missions under the COTS program, short for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services.

"It's been a very good experience," Horkachuck said. "The Space Act Agreement lets us interact with the contractor in a much more cooperative way than the typical government contract does. We can suggest how we've done it in the past and maybe they'll use that, or they'll come up with a slightly altered version to work through a challenge."

Getting the rocket, spacecraft and overall mission together has been a learning experience for both SpaceX and NASA, Horkachuck said. For instance, SpaceX learned how much more work is involved in flying to a space station with a crew on board, compared with launching a spacecraft and recovering it after a few orbits.

"Every big project is going to have various technical challenges," Horkachuck said. "One of the refreshing things has been, once you convince SpaceX they need to make a change and it's the right thing to do from a technical perspective, they just go off and do it. There's not a lot of wrangling."

The partnership has shown NASA a blueprint for handling future missions, too.

"If you've got a good relationship with the partner, it's an outstanding way of doing business," Horkachuck said.

All that said, rocketry and spaceflight remain tricky businesses that are unforgiving of even slight oversights.

"The history of all rocket launches is that you can have a successful mission and then some tiny little thing can come bite you on the next mission," Horkachuck said. "There's so many little things that can go wrong, you have to always be diligent about every little thing."

The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are at Cape Canaveral undergoing final preparations ahead of the launch. For Horkachuck, the three weeks in orbit will be filled with the tension familiar to anyone involved with a spaceflight, he said.

"Once Dragon gets into orbit and is operating, there's certainly going to be a big cheer," he said. "But I think most of the big events and dynamic events in this spaceflight really culminate when you finally have splashdown. Throughout the mission, there will be moments of panic followed by long periods of calm."

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/spacex_launchpreview.html

[LG]

Как достал этот Драгон...
Ну когда же он наконец полетит...
Боже...

[LRV_75]

Как достал этот Драгон...
Ну когда же он наконец полетит...
Боже...

не ранее конца апреля  

[Bizonich]

Как достал этот Драгон...
Ну когда же он наконец полетит...
Боже...

Согласен, достал, значит нервничаем, переживаем. Пусть полетит. IMHO, на форуме мало людей, которые желают ему зла. Сам жду полета и надеюсь на отличный результат.
Недолго осталось, если не перенесут.
04/30/12...03:00:00 PM...NASA TV coverage of SpaceX/Falcon 9/COTS 2/3 launch begins
С замечательным праздником Вас дорогие форумчане!  

[LRV_75]

С замечательным праздником Вас дорогие форумчане!  

Кстати, да  :wink:

 

[instml]

Billionaire Elon Musk Opens Up About Private Spaceflight Challenges

The commercial spaceflight company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is preparing to launch a robotic capsule to the International Space Station later this month. If successful, SpaceX will be the first company to dock a privately built spacecraft to the orbiting outpost.

But preparing for the historic flight has been challenging, SpaceX's billionaire CEO Elon Musk said.

The unmanned Dragon capsule is slated to launch atop the company's own Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 30. It will be the second flight of the Dragon spacecraft, but the first time the California-based company attempts to rendezvous and dock with the space station.

"There are a huge number of things that we had to address," Musk told SPACE.com. "The biggest thing is to pass all of NASA's safety requirements for going and docking, or berthing, with the space station, because the space station is a $100 billion asset. It has astronauts from different countries onboard, and Dragon is approaching it as a robotic spacecraft, and if it were to go haywire, in theory, it could damage or destroy the space station. So, it has to go through a very rigorous set of safety and reliability requirements and pass all those, which we just got our approval last week. That was the toughest thing."

The flight is designed to demonstrate Dragon's ability to haul cargo to and from the space station, and while it represents an important step forward for the commercial spaceflight industry, Musk is cautious about its implications.

"This mission is important, although I wouldn't want to place too much emphasis on the success of this mission, because it is a first-time effort and if there's any danger or concern with respect to the space station, then we will have to abort and try again on a different flight," he said.

Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, and the company is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. He is SpaceX's chief engineer and also serves as the CEO of Tesla Motors, the electric car company. Musk made his fortune as co-founder of the online payment system PayPal.

SpaceX is one of several private companies developing new spacecraft to carry cargo and astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. SpaceX intends to use a version of the Dragon capsule to eventually fly humans to the space station. After that, Musk has his sights set on the Red Planet.

"I think what we're doing is showing that there's a steady march of progress, and that in a few years, I will be taking astronauts to the space station, and then ultimately far beyond the space station," he said. "Our ultimate objective is Mars, and it always has been."

And as for whether the billionaire entrepreneur has spaceflight ambitions of his own?

"I would like to fly in space," Musk said. "Absolutely. That would be cool. I used to just do personally risky things, but now I've got kids and responsibilities, so I can't be my own test pilot. That wouldn't be a good idea. But I definitely want to fly as soon as it's a sensible thing to do."

http://www.space.com/15267-elon-musk-private-space-challenges.html

[LG]

 Тот кто справа похож на космонавта Гречко. Типа "Как нам поймать инопланетянина и почему мы этого изверга до сих пор не поймали"

[Дмитрий В.]

 Тот кто справа похож на космонавта Гречко. Типа "Как нам поймать инопланетянина и почему мы этого изверга до сих пор не поймали"

Не знаю, не знаю... Но тот что справа похож на Мавроди, убеждающего потенциального клиента вложиться в МММ-2011. :lol:

[Lamort]

 Тот кто справа похож на космонавта Гречко. Типа "Как нам поймать инопланетянина и почему мы этого изверга до сих пор не поймали"

все это дам Тебе, если, пав, поклонишься мне[/size]