Dragon Crew v.2.0

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Jack Beyer‏ @thejackbeyer 2 ч. назад

This will be the first Crew Dragon to carry astronauts. It also now seems likely to be the first American spacecraft to carry astronauts to orbit since the flawed but venerable Space Shuttle. Amazing. @NASASpaceflight #SpaceX



1 ч. назад

More Dragon, you say? Ok.

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Jack Beyer‏ @thejackbeyer 7 ч. назад

Here's a clooooseup of a 3D printed SuperDraco thrust chamber. The 8 of these on Crew Dragon will provide the brute force needed for the Launch Escape System in case of an... off nominal situation.



7 ч. назад

And here's a wide shot of the SuperDraco thrust chamber. Absolutely beautiful. @NASASpaceflight

[ExDi]

Astro Cat пишет:
. Испытания на 2х кратное давление в вакууме скафандр выдержал. И может быть уже в следующем году в нем полетят на орбиту.

ха! давление! вы с маском не представляете, какой там ужасный ветер

[Not]

DiZed пишет: ха! давление! вы с маском не представляете, какой там ужасный ветер

Я бы еще добавил портрет Маска во всю героическую грудь и вязаную балаклаву для узнаваемости - и на любом карнавале Вы будете желанным гостем. Хотя, иногда будут бить  

[Alex_II]

Not пишет:
Хотя, иногда будут бить

По себе что ли судишь? Надо же, кто-то еще уделяет тебе немного внимания...

[Ну-и-ну]

Искусствоведов группа тихо
задумчиво глядит на холст
и вдруг один седой и строгий
отчётливо сказал: Гов... "А как работают суставы?"

Правда интересно.

[Not]

Ну-и-ну пишет:
Искусствоведов группа тихо
задумчиво глядит на холст
и вдруг один седой и строгий
отчётливо сказал: Гов... "А как работают суставы?"

Правда интересно.

Маску нужно посмотреть кино "Время первых". Там эти грабли красиво обрисованы.

[tnt22]

Stephen C. Smith‏ @WordsmithFL 1 ч. назад

Breaking: @SpaceX Crew Dragon access arm moved to Pad 39A for installation.

[tnt22]

Stephen C. Smith‏ @WordsmithFL 8 ч. назад

More crummy photos from my smartphone.

[кукушка]

[Astro Cat]

DiZed пишет:
ха! давление! вы с маском не представляете, какой там ужасный ветер

Я думал тут нет таких, кто не может догадаться, что давление воздуха внутри скафандра, а вакуум снаружи. Извините. )))

[ExDi]

Astro Cat пишетЯ думал тут нет таких, кто не может догадаться, что давление воздуха внутри скафандра, а вакуум снаружи. Извините. )))

не пугайте меня ; ) - давление конечно внутри - но ветер-то снаружи! нот вот все правильно понял..

[Astro Cat]

DiZed, нет! Ветер внуртри вашей головы. Специальный, веселый-вакуумный.)))

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 3 ч. назад

FEATURE ARTICLE:
SpaceX readies for installation of LC-39A Crew Access Arm, previews Crew Dragon -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/08/spacex-installation-lc-39a-caa-previews-crew-dragon/ ...

- By Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF)
- Includes photos and footage from Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

Спойлер

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[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/08/17/crew-walkway-arrives-at-launch-pad-39a-in-florida/

Crew walkway arrives at launch pad 39A in Florida
August 17, 2018 | Stephen Clark


The crew access arm on the deck of launch pad 39A awaits its installation. Photo: Ken Kremer/spaceupclose.com.

The access arm and white room astronauts will transit when boarding SpaceX's Crew Dragon commercial capsule has arrived at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Photos of the access arm shared on social media show it arrived at pad 39A earlier this week. SpaceX will raise it to an attach point on the launch pad's fixed service structure at the correct height to give astronauts and ground crews access to the Crew Dragon spacecraft sitting atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

At the end of the arm, a white room will connect to the hatch entry way of the Crew Dragon spaceship, allowing astronauts to crawl aboard a few hours before liftoff on missions to the International Space Station.

A crew access arm similar in function — but different in appearance — has been installed at United Launch Alliance's nearby Atlas 5 launch pad at Cape Canaveral, where Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial crew craft will lift off with astronauts on-board.

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Multiple cranes are in place to lift assist in the installation of the crew access arm. Photo: Ken Kremer/spaceupclose.com.

SpaceX plans to have the access arm in place and tested in advance of the Crew Dragon's first unpiloted orbital demonstration flight, known as Demo-1, set for launch in November. The Crew Dragon's first test flight in Earth orbit with a two-man crew on-board is scheduled for April 2019, followed by regular crew rotation launches to the space station.

NASA has a $2.6 billion contract with SpaceX to develop the Crew Dragon capsule. The space agency signed a similar $4.2 billion deal with Boeing for that company's Starliner vehicle, giving NASA two commercial spaceships to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit and back, ending U.S. reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crew transportation.

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https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-spacex-agree-on-plans-for-crew-launch-day-operations

Aug. 18, 2018

NASA, SpaceX Agree on Plans for Crew Launch Day Operations

NASA's Commercial Crew Program and SpaceX are finalizing plans for launch day operations as they prepare for the company's first flight test with astronauts on board. The teams are working toward a crew test flight to the International Space Station, known as Demo-2, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in April 2019.

A key question the program and the company have been assessing is whether the astronauts will climb aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft before or after SpaceX fuels the Falcon 9 rocket. NASA has made the decision to move forward with SpaceX's plan to fuel the rocket after the astronauts are in place. While the agreement makes this plan the baseline for operations, it is contingent upon NASA's final certification of the operation.

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"To make this decision, our teams conducted an extensive review of the SpaceX ground operations, launch vehicle design, escape systems and operational history," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "Safety for our personnel was the driver for this analysis, and the team's assessment was that this plan presents the least risk."

Additional verification and demonstration activities, which include five crew loading demonstrations of the Falcon 9 Block 5, will be critical to final certification of this plan. These loading demonstrations will verify the flight crew configuration and crew loading timeline prior to Demo-2. After these conditions have been met, NASA will assess any remaining risk before determining that the system is certified to fly with crew.

If all goes according to plan, on launch day, the Falcon 9 composite overwrap pressure vessels, known as COPVs, will be loaded with helium and verified to be in a stable configuration prior to astronaut arrival at the launch pad. The astronauts then will board the spacecraft about two hours before launch, when the launch system is in a quiescent state. After the ground crews depart the launch pad, the launch escape systems will be activated approximately 38 minutes before liftoff, just before fueling begins. SpaceX launch controllers then will begin loading rocket grade kerosene and densified liquid oxygen approximately 35 minutes before launch. The countdown and launch preparations can be stopped automatically up to the last moment before launch. In the unlikely event of an emergency at any point up to and after launch, the launch escape systems will allow the astronauts to evacuate safely.

This timeline is consistent with the fueling procedures SpaceX uses for its commercial resupply missions and satellite launches.

The crew launches of NASA's Commercial Crew partners SpaceX and Boeing will return the nation's ability to launch our astronauts from the United States to and from the International Space Station on American spacecraft.

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Last Updated: Aug. 18, 2018
Editor: Mark Garcia

[tnt22]

http://tass.ru/kosmos/5469641

В NASA согласились с методом SpaceX по заправке ракеты Falcon 9

Космос | 19 августа, 9:19 UTC+3

НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 19 августа. /ТАСС/. Специалисты NASA согласились с предложенным компанией SpaceX методом заправки ракеты Falcon 9 перед первым пилотируемым полетом космического корабля Dragon в 2019 году. Об этом говорится в заявлении, опубликованном на сайте американского космического ведомства.

В нем отмечается, что NASA и SpaceX завершают планирование этой операции, которую, как ожидается, проведут в апреле 2019 года. При этом, как подчеркнули в ведомстве, "ключевой вопрос" заключается в том, займут ли астронавты свои места на борту Dragon до или после заправки ракеты топливом. "NASA решило действовать согласно плану SpaceX по заправке ракеты", - разъяснили в документе.

Суть метода, за который выступает компания, состоит в том, чтобы заправлять ракеты, в том числе предназначенные для пилотируемого полета, непосредственно перед запуском охлажденным топливом под большим давлением. Таким образом, оно имеет меньший объем, что, в частности, позволяет загрузить больше горючего. Однако в этом случае заправку нужно производить непосредственно перед запуском, когда экипаж уже находится в корабле.

В NASA ранее высказали опасения относительно безопасности такого способа. Поводом для этого послужил инцидент, имевший место в сентябре 2016 года. Тогда ракета Falcon 9 взорвалась во время заправки перед проверкой двигателя.

Глава SpaceX Илон Маск в начале мая заверил журналистов в том, что опасения насчет безопасности метода "холодной заправки" слишком преувеличены. Кроме того, по его словам, технология в целом позволяет разместить экипаж в корабле уже после того, как баки ракеты будут заполнены. Однако Маск считает это ненужной тратой времени.
...

[tnt22]

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-crew-dragon-sea-recovery-giant-inflatable-cushion/

SpaceX gears up for Crew Dragon's first recovery with a giant inflatable cushion

By Eric Ralph
Posted on August 19, 2018

Paired with observations and comments from sources familiar with the company, all signs seem to indicate that SpaceX is planning to recover their first Crew Dragon spacecraft with a giant inflatable cushion, to be towed a hundred or so miles off the coast of California by one of the company's Port of LA-stationed recovery vessels.

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Despite a minor mishap during some sort of inaugural sea-trial of a custom Crew Dragon mass simulator, SpaceX technicians are pushing ahead with a test campaign intended properly characterize exactly how to best recover a Dragon while side-stepping around the problems caused by seawater immersion.

Pauline Acalin‏ @w00ki33

Inside the clean room at SpaceX HQ, Crew Dragon is nearing completion. This will be the capsule to make the first crewed flight, currently slated for April 2019. #spacex #CrewDragon @Teslarati



17:53 - 15 авг. 2018 г.

WHY RECOVER YOUR DRAGON?

First off, why would SpaceX choose to develop a new method of Dragon recovery – different than the company's current experience with simply landing the capsules in the ocean – with the expectation that it will debut during the recovery of Crew Dragon after its very first demonstration mission (DM-1)? A huge number of unknowns and major questions remain, but the decision to attempt to avoid seawater immersion during the DM-1 Dragon recovery is very likely no coincidence.

Over the last several years, SpaceX engineers and technicians have learned a huge amount from recovering, refurbishing, and even reusing Cargo Dragons to resupply the International Space Station for NASA. Of all the lessons learned, the most unequivocal has to be a newfound appreciation for just how difficult it is to safely and reliably reuse spacecraft and rocket components after landing and being immersed in seawater. Despite SpaceX's growing experience with reusing both Falcon 9 and Cargo Dragon, Dragons still typically require a bare minimum of 6-12 months of refurbishment before they are ready for another launch.


SpaceX's CRS-13 Cargo Dragon, capsule C108, seen near the end of its refurbishment. (SpaceX)


A reused orbital spacecraft, Cargo Dragon, back on Earth after its second successful resupply mission. (SpaceX)


All Crew and Cargo Dragons are built and refurbished in the same processing facility, a clean-room inside SpaceX's Hawthorne, CA factory. (SpaceX)

For Crew Dragon's DM-1 debut, it thus makes sense that SpaceX wants to recover the spacecraft in such a way that it is exceptionally easy to rapidly refurbish. Perhaps just several months after that capsule returns to Earth, currently expected no earlier than December 2018, SpaceX's first crewed Crew Dragon demonstration's tentative April 2019 launch debut will depend entirely on the completion and review of an In-Flight Abort (IFA) test planned just one month prior, March 2019.

The planned IFA test of Crew Dragon hinges entirely on DM-1 and Dragon refurbishment because the present plan (and launch schedule) absolutely depends on reflying DM-1's Crew Dragon capsule, potentially recovered from orbit as few as three months prior.


Crew Dragon completed a successful pad-abort test in 2015. (SpaceX)

With a successful 2015 Pad Abort already under Crew Dragon's belt, SpaceX voluntarily chose to conduct an additional complimentary in-flight abort not explicitly required by NASA, designed to demonstrate that Dragon will be able to safely extract astronauts from a failing rocket at the point of peak aerodynamic pressure (Max-Q). Essentially, a combination of successful aborts both on the launch pad and during Max-Q would theoretically demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that Crew Dragon really is capable of safely aborting a launch and protecting its astronauts at any point during launch.

Cargo Dragon has demonstrated that – apparently – no amount of heroics can refurbish the recovered spacecraft in just a small handful of months after seawater immersion, not without major changes to its design. As such, preventing that with some sort of inflatable cushion (or even Mr Steven's net) would likely save many months of drying, cleaning, and requalification testing of all externally impacted components.


Cargo Dragon returns to Earth looking rather well-done. (SpaceX)


The first spaceworthy Crew Dragon capsule is already in Florida, preparing for its November 2018 launch debut. The same capsule will be refurbished and reflown as few as three months after recovery. (SpaceX)


The first truly crewed Crew Dragon is in the late stages of assembly in SpaceX's Hawthorne factory, August 13. (Pauline Acalin)

HOW TO RECOVER YOUR DRAGON

While the "why" is fairly obvious at this point, the "how" of actually making such a cushioned recovery happen is far less clear. Still, we at least know from several recent comments from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and statements made in environmental impact analyses that the company has been considering such recoveries for some time.

Despite the fact that Crew Dragon's original propulsive landing capability was nixed due to the unlikelihood of NASA ever certifying it for crewed landings and the expense required to attempt that certification, there is still clearly some latent interest (and value) in precisely landing Crew Dragon, even if only to speed up capsule and crew recovery after splashdown. A March 2018 preliminary environmental impact analysis of Gulf of Mexico Dragon recoveries – as a backup to bad weather in the Pacific and Atlantic – made the interest in precision exceptionally clear.

"The splashdown zone is a circle with a radius of approximately 5.4 nautical miles. ... Dragon has been designed to perform precision landings in order to minimize the size of the splashdown zone and recovery time."

Admittedly, a circle with a diameter of 10.8 nautical miles (20 km) does not exactly scream "precision" and ~20 km is likely around a thousand times less precise than what's needed to land on the 30m-diameter inflatable structure present at Berth 240, but it's probable that the splashdown zone as discussed is a worst-case scenario meant to give SpaceX's recovery team plenty of wiggle room.


Crew Dragon was originally designed with propulsive landings in mind, much like Falcon 9's booster recovery. (SpaceX)


In place of propulsive landing, it appears that a giant inflatable cushion is the new solution for quick reuse. (Pauline Acalin)
 
Musk also took a few seconds of a Falcon Heavy post-launch press conference to briefly describe Mr Steven, and he just so happened to touch on fairing and Dragon recovery:

"And we've got a special boat to catch the fairing. ... It's like a giant catcher's mitt in boat form. I think we might be able to do the same thing with Dragon. So...if NASA wants us to, we can try to catch Dragon. Literally, it's meant for the fairing, but it would work for Dragon, too." – Elon Musk

MR STEVEN TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM

Even more experimental than fairing recovery, SpaceX happened to experience a minor incident while attempting to test aspects of its prototype Dragon catcher apparatus in early August. Partially captured by Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin, SpaceX technicians were lifting a Crew Dragon heatshield mass simulator topped with water-filled buoys onto Mr Steven. Moments after it was lowered onto the deck, the whole setup disappeared below the vessel's side rails in a massive boom.


The Crew Dragon mass simulator is loaded onto Mr Steven for the first time, August 3rd. (Pauline Acalin)


Shortly after touchdown, the mass sim disappeared with a deafening boom, presumably breaking through Mr Steven's wooden deck. (Pauline Acalin)


SpaceX technicians lift a Crew Dragon mass simulator off of Mr Steven's deck after accidentally breaking it. (Pauline Acalin)
 
According to sources familiar with SpaceX's recovery fleet, the mishap was much less severe than the deafening noise it produced seemed to indicate from the sidelines. They described the aftermath as "an annoying accident" that was unlikely to take any significant amount of time to repair. More likely than not, Mr Steven's wooden deck suffered some level of structural degradation after several years of active use, something that SpaceX technicians only discovered after loading (or maybe dropping) a heavy Dragon mass simulator aboard.

Regardless, one could certainly say that the test in question was more or less a success, as it most certainly demonstrated whether Mr Steven's deck was actually capable of supporting the heavy test article (it was not). A few repairs and structural reinforcements later, the vessel is likely already back in working order, with photos taken on August 19th showing that the focus has returned to the vessel's arms (two of which must have been removed earlier this week).


Mr Steven sans two arms, August 19th. (Pauline Acalin)

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[tnt22]

Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 4 ч. назад

At the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A work is underway to lift the crew access arm into place that will be used by astronauts boarding the Crew Dragon capsule. https://spaceflightnow.com 



1 ч. назад

The access arm that astronauts will use to board the Crew Dragon is being lifted into place at launch pad 39A: https://spaceflightnow.com 

[tnt22]

Tom McCool‏ @Cygnusx112 18 мин. назад

#SpaceX is in the process of lifting the crew access arm into place this morning! #Astronauts will use this to board the spacecraft. #SpaceFlight #CCP

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