SpaceX Dragon 2 - testing & updates

[DocM]

Yeah. What a tease - they show a little leg and then cut us off ;)

Mk 2 will take over both cargo and crew so separate names may well hold. It's looking likr both may use SuperDraco's for propulsive landings like F9.

Context for Musk's "trampoline" comment,

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/trampoline-space-russian-official-tells-nasa-take-flying-leap-n92616

  Quote

Trampoline to Space? Russian Official Tells NASA to Take a Flying Leap

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a target of U.S. sanctions sparked by the Ukraine crisis, said Tuesday that those sanctions would boomerang against America's space effort and essentially told NASA to take a flying leap ... on a trampoline.

"After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline," Rogozin said via hisRussian-language Twitter account.

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[DocM]

According to the NASA Advisory Council April 14-15 Commercial Crew presentation,

Pad abort test: June 2014

Flight abort test: August 2014

These will be live tests of Dragons 8 SuperDraco abort & landing thrusters.

Launch abort

Landing

[DocM]

This just popped up on the interweb. Looks like a wind tunnel model of Dragon 2/DragonRider. I'm posting the original, a rotated to vertical, and a gamma adjusted version to show the background.

[flyingskippy]

Do the superdraco thrusters gimbal or do they throttle them asymmetrically for direction control?

[DocM]

Differential throttling. SD's are deeply throttleable, plus they can be rapidly pulsed - damned things can go from 0 tp 100% throttle in .01 second.

[DocM]

Should have figured this was coming.

Dig the pulse rate in the last second or so of that burn. Throttleable indeed!

  Quote

SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster

Thruster to Power Revolutionary Launch Escape System on Dragon Spacecraft

HAWTHORNE, Calif. ? Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) announced today that it has completed qualification testing for the SuperDraco thruster, an engine that will power the Dragon spacecraft?s launch escape system and enable the vehicle to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.

The qualification testing program took place over the last month at SpaceX?s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. The program included testing across a variety of conditions including multiple starts, extended firing durations and extreme off-nominal propellant flow and temperatures.

The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines currently used by SpaceX?s Dragon spacecraft to maneuver in orbit and during re-entry. SuperDracos will be used on the crew version of the Dragon spacecraft as part of the vehicle?s launch escape system; they will also enable propulsive landing on land. Each SuperDraco produces 16,000 pounds of thrust and can be restarted multiple times if necessary. In addition, the engines have the ability to deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power.

The SuperDraco engine chamber is manufactured using state-of-the-art direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), otherwise known as 3D printing. The chamber is regeneratively cooled and printed in Inconel, a high-performance superalloy that offers both high strength and toughness for increased reliability.

?Through 3D printing, robust and high-performing engine parts can be created at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional manufacturing methods,? said Elon Musk, Chief Designer and CEO. ?SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of what additive manufacturing can do in the 21st century, ultimately making our vehicles more efficient, reliable and robust than ever before.?

Unlike previous launch escape systems that were jettisoned after the first few minutes of launch, SpaceX?s launch system is integrated into the Dragon spacecraft. Eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch.

As a result, Dragon will be able to provide astronauts with the unprecedented ability to escape from danger at any point during the ascent trajectory, not just in the first few minutes. In addition, the eight SuperDracos provide redundancy, so that even if one engine fails an escape can still be carried out successfully.

The first flight demonstration of the SuperDraco will be part of the upcoming pad abort test under NASA?s Commercial Crew Integrated Capabilities (CCiCap) initiative. The pad abort will be the first test of SpaceX?s new launch escape system and is currently expected to take place later this year.

[ks8877]

As I already said, SpaceX is showing great design and with current technology it's the most cost effective way,

but when they showed Dragon v2, I smiled because it reminded me design of another great company :-)  - IMac of Apple from 90s  :-)

[DocM]

Who? With the sleek lines I thought of Scaled Composites or Jim Hall's Chaparral road racers.

[ks8877]

Shape as IMac of Apple from 90s  :-)

[DocM]

[ks8877]

I hope NASA will not take "Bulk Buy" of CST-100 from Boeing...

[AnotherITguy]

They would be stupid if they did.

[DocM]

By the way - the vehicle shown last night is the one likely to do the first unmanned orbital flight. The pad abort vehicle will be used for both of those flights, and he DragonFly will serve the Grasshopper landing test role.

Pics & video from the presentation thread for reference

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2014/05/29/spacex-unveils-its-new-dragon-spacecraft/

Presentation video

[DocM]

Part of the presentation Q&A

[DocM]

Garrett Reisman, former NASA astronaut and manager of SpaceX's manned program, just said Dragon 2 will do same-day ISS flights instead of 3 days.

From the pic below, there's a ton of headroom in there too, especially compared to Soyuz or Shenzhou.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1405/29dragonv2/#.U4k5acvD_qA

  Quote

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crew-capable Dragon will still feature a trunk section to carry unpressurized cargo, but the extendable power-producing solar panels on the resupply version of the capsule are replaced by fixed panels attached to the craft's body. It is also designed to be reused up to 10 times without major refurbishment.

Reisman said SpaceX is aiming to launch crews on Dragon spacecraft and complete an autopilot docking with the International Space Station on the same day.

"Another [difference] is this one gets to the space station all by itself. You don't have to grab it with the space station's robot arm."

After training on the venerable Russian Soyuz spacecraft before a three-month expedition on the space station, Reisman said SpaceX's Dragon offers a roomier ride for astronauts.

"There's so much more elbow room in there compared to the Soyuz," he said. "Instead of just bringing two of your buddies, you can bring six ... It's got modern electronics, it's got modern materials in the heat shield. So technologically, it's a giant leap beyond the Soyuz."

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[malenfant]

That pic really conveys the size of the windows.

The quick docking likely also means no head aboard. Probably sighs of relief at that. Or not.

[DocM]

It'll have facilities. The usual astronaut diaper pants, a suction tube with interchangeable urine funnels, plastic bags etc. The usual capsule stuff. ISS has a vacuum commode, and Bigelow's stations will have something similar.

[malenfant]

Sure. Just highlighting the Jetsons aesthetic with mundane reality.

When are they going to bring dignity to the astronaut corps and fit them all with colostomy bags?

[DocM]

If you're going there then a urostomy is needed too. Or we can get over total potty privacy for a few days.

[+FloatingFatMan Subscriber¹]

  On 31/05/2014 at 10:21, DocM said:

If you're going there then a urostomy is needed too. Or we can get over total potty privacy for a few days.

Until they figure out faking gravity, toileting will always be a problem in space. I doubt the astronauts are too squeamish about it.

[malenfant]

Colostomies and urostomies for everyone!

Joking aside, in a capsules confines its going to be a pretty squalid business. It is what it is.

[DocM]

That's why for all but taxi missions a larger habitat and core truss including propulsion and taxi/lander docking nodes makes sense.

[DocM]

I find it interesting that recently Musk has gone from 1) dismissing lunar missions as uninteresting, to 2) saying they may do one to prove capability, to 3) emphasizing Dragon V2 is up to them.

Also, Robert T. Bigelow (commercial space stations) was at the Dragon V2 reveal and was gushing all over it. Of interest is that in Bigelow Aerospace's recent report to NASA on space commercialization was an advanced proposal for a moon base using their habitat tech.

This has spaked spculation that another deal is pending.

http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/05/30/dragon-v2-spacexs-next-generation-manned-spacecraft

  Quote

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Additional upgrades include a SpaceX-designed and built ISS docking adapter, impact attenuating landing legs, and a more advanced version of the PICA-X (Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator-X) heat shield for improved durability and performance. Dragon V2?s robust thermal protection system is capable of lunar missions, in addition to flights to and from Earth orbit.

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[malenfant]

To the moon! First manned flight. EDIT - removed nonsense.

Actually a lunar flyby seems feasible.

[DocM]

They could do an Apollo 8 style mission using Falcon Heavy. Dragon V2 is good for 7-10 days, so 6-7 days to go and return with a crew of 3-4.

Mount SuperDraco pods inside the trunk and add extra consumables and it may be able to stay a while.