SpaceX Dragon 2 - testing & updates


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Looking at the Dragon 2 CCtCap milestones this pair of tests was milestone #2.  A full propulsive landing is milestone #6 and should happen a few months later, meaning about April.  That may be long as some Grasshopper-style hop tests were removed from the DragonFly test series, shortening it.

 

Milestones #3 - #5 are the avionics, a delta critical design review and their in-house made IDA-X docking adapter (less costly & simpler than the Boeing build version.)

Edited by DocM
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The NASA Docking System (NDS) for commercial crew is the US version of iLIDS, the International Low Impact Docking System. The International Docking Adapters (IDA) going to ISS adapt NDS to the existing Russian Androgynous Peripheral Attach System-95 (APAS-95) docking ports which ISS uses and Shuttle used. APAS-95 dates back to Apollo-Soyuz and MIR. 

 

The "-95" refers to the hatch diameter in centimeters, which limits the passage size for visiting Vehicle adapters, tunnels and hatches. As such, NDA has the same hole.

 

Other expansion ports on ISS use the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM), which is what Dragon 1, Dream Chaser (in CBM mode, it can do either) and Cygnus use. CBM can have a hatch size of up to 127 cm.  Dragon 1 is the only vehicle currently using the 127 cm CBM  hatch. Cygnus uses a smaller one.

 

In principle a docking adapter for CBM and capable of a larger hatch is possible, but its weight (reduces cargo mass) and cost would be prohibitive and it would reduce the number of CBM's available for cargo ships like Dragon 1, Dream Chaser and Cygnus. Dragon 2 will use the SpaceX version of NDS - no room for CBM because the parachutes were moved next to the NDA for faster deployment, and the nose cones mechanism.

 

Future stations will likely continue this pattern, though Bigelow was talking about a larger docking adapter as an option in addition to NDA and CBM.

 

 

Edited by DocM
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29 minutes ago, Draggendrop said:

/s Friday comedy interlude....

 

56a2bb25bb543_EnoughwiththeCST-100giveme

Enough with the CST-100, I want the Dragon.....

 

:woot:

I don't think we'd be walking away from that one. More likely we'll require spatulas and mason jars. Jam, anyone? :rofl:

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This is an old video, May 2014, which most have probably seen, but after viewing it again, I thought it was a good refresher on tank, thruster's and SuperDraco compartmentalization...

 

SpaceX Dragon V2 | Unveil Event

video is 15:08 min, the tanks and goodies are at the 7:00 min mark...

 

 

 

and of course, inside the compartment modules...

 

printed_super_draco_3_lr.thumb.jpg.39aab

Printed SuperDraco       SpaceX

 

:)

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SuperDraco thruster pack; 2 thrusters, 146,000 Newtons (32,800 lbf) in a rocket pack you could pick up and carry away. Dragon 2 has four of these.

 

Stick one of these on the back of the Batmobile.

 

SuperDraco_rocket_engines_at_SpaceX_Hawt

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2 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

 

Stick one on the back of an astronaut! :p

 

Or the back of a '71 Monte Carlo. Better have a wide open stretch of desert for runoff space, though. 

 

"Ah gots me one'a them there newfangled jay'toh units! Done strapped it ta th' back'a mah car! Y'ALL WATCH THIS!!"

 

 

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Those "little puppies" pack a lot of punch, 73,000 N each. To put this in perspective...The ISS reboost is usually done by Progress supply ships and have 3,000 N available for use. If the Zarya or Zvezda orbital modules are used, each module has 2 thrusters of 3,000 N each. The 3,000 N from Progress is maximum available.....The SuperDraco would literally be capable of folding the ISS. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Astronauts Practice Crew Dragon Egress

 

Quote

Astronaut Anne McClain takes part in egress training for the Crew Dragon at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California, headquarters recently as part of a larger team of astronauts and engineers evaluating processes for the new generation of American spacecraft in development to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Working inside a mock-up built by SpaceX to simulate the actual spacecraft, the team practices leaving the spacecraft through the top hatch of the Crew Dragon as well as using the side hatch. The work is common in assessing spacecraft design. For astronauts, such rehearsals are regular exercise in mission preparations even in spacecraft that have been flying regularly.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2016/02/16/astronauts-practice-crew-dragon-egress/

 

/s   suit on...check...small cut in each glove palm.....check....exit and do the "Ironman"

AnneMcclain-crewdragon.jpg

 

:)

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Is she on the short list to Command the first Crewed Dragon flight? :woot:

 

Beauty and brains, with a motivated, can-do personality .. a winning combination in my book. I find women of that caliber very attractive -- and who wouldn't?

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1 minute ago, Draggendrop said:

my mistake, I thought this was the first crew member....

 

17m8dq90na6bijpg.thumb.jpg.30eeb95e56e3e

 

:woot:

As long as she has the necessary qualifications, and can withstand sustained 6g, she's acceptable. ;) 

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Just curious...though it is a mock up, the plain off white is kind of dull...hope the mesh look is in store for the real deal...then coveralls won't be allowed, being too tacky....:D

 

this...

v2_interior_wide.jpg?itok=ZTkgY1qr

 

looks a bit better than  this... (wall color and appearance)

 

interior_2.0.jpg

seating and struts look good though...

 

:)

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The isogrid is under the white interior, it strengthens the pressure hull. The interior walls provide places to attach handholds, lights, ancillary equipment, cargo bag attachments etc. and it's softer if people bounce into it. Note the window in the hatch and that the control panel folds into the wall.

 

This is the new version  of your top image.

Hmuf85j.jpg

 

 

Edited by DocM
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49 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

But will it look that clean and spacious for its first real mission, or will it be jam packed with stuff?

 

Likely jam-packed with stuff.

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Commercial Crew ISS missions will usually have a crew of 4, with Crew Dragon pressurized cargo packed into the space occupied by the lower 3 seats. Hauling 4 crew members will also allow an expansion of the ISS crew. 

 

Both Crew Dragon and Starliner can also serve as ISS lifeboats, with both having a "DEORBIT NOW" button - aka a Bugout Button. This will allow an escaping crew to dive in, close the hatch, authorize, hit DEORBIT NOW and the spaceship will un-dock, pull away from ISS and then fly itself home. Just in case there's no pilot or the pilot is injured.

 

55de015078e89833e4cc71cd904c7b6e.jpg

 

 

Edited by DocM
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