Author Topic: SpaceX Q&A  (Read 123855 times)

Offline Danderman

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SpaceX Q&A
« on: 04/22/2012 05:31 pm »
Its hard to believe that there isn't a SpaceX Q&A section, so here goes!

(Everything in one place overview - added by Chris:

Links:
SpaceX Forum Section:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=45.0 - please use this for general questions, non updates.

SpaceX News Articles from 2006 (Including numerous exclusive Elon interviews):
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=21862.0

SpaceX News Articles (Recent):
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/spacex/


Recent COTS2/3 Specific articles:

NASA managers aligning to combine final Dragon COTS test missions:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/05/nasa-aligning-combine-final-dragon-cots-missions/

ISS managers evaluating SpaceX via safety reviews ahead of debut arrival:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/08/iss-managers-spacex-test-safety-reviews-ahead-debut-arrival/

ISS Managers Conduct Expedition 29 FRR, Prepare Station for Post-Shuttle Ops - by Pete Harding:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/08/iss-managers-expedition-29-frr-prepare-station-post-shuttle-operations/

ISS partners prepare to welcome SpaceX and Orbital in a busy 2012 - by Pete Harding:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/10/iss-partners-welcome-spacex-orbital-busy-2012/

ISS Community reviews Station Progress, Anomalies, and Upcoming Flights - by Chris Gebhardt:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/10/iss-community-reviews-station-progress-anomalies-upcoming-flights/

SpaceX Dragon ISS flight to slip further, pending combined mission approval:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/12/spacex-dragon-flight-slipping-further-combined-approval/

NASA managers announce February 7 launch date for Dragon ISS mission:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/12/nasa-february-7-launch-date-dragon-iss-mission/

ISS performs hardware and software upgrades to support inaugural Dragon visit - by Pete Harding:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/iss-hardware-software-upgrades-support-inaugural-dragon-visit/

Dragon ISS flight slips – SpaceX determined to return US crewed access to LEO:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/dragon-slips-spacex-determined-return-us-crewed-access-leo/

SpaceX team conduct successful Falcon 9 WDR ahead of Dragon’s ISS debut:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/spacex-successful-falcon-9-wdr-dragons-iss-debut/


L2 SpaceX Section:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=tags&tags=SpaceX

L2 SpaceX Dragon C2/C3 Mission Special (NEW - Exclusively acquired pre-launch and Mission Coverage, Presentations, Graphics, Videos, Updates):
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=54.0)

Questions:

I noticed in the Falcon 1 user guide that the main flight computer is a PC/104 based system. Is that the same PC/104 board that CubeSATs use?
« Last Edit: 04/26/2012 02:20 pm by Chris Bergin »

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #1 on: 04/23/2012 01:40 pm »
As I posted to your previous question: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28010.msg888226#msg888226


PC/104 is a standard, there are more manufactures and flavors of PC/104 than you can shake a stick at. So your question should be, does spaceX use the same PC/104 vendor as say a particular cube sat.

http://www.pc104.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104
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Offline JBF

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #2 on: 04/23/2012 02:16 pm »
Does anyone know what SpaceX is paying to use the facilities in Florida?
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Offline Danderman

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #3 on: 04/23/2012 03:08 pm »
As I posted to your previous question: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28010.msg888226#msg888226


PC/104 is a standard, there are more manufactures and flavors of PC/104 than you can shake a stick at. So your question should be, does spaceX use the same PC/104 vendor as say a particular cube sat.

http://www.pc104.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/104

No, I was questioning whether the PC/104 board used in CubeSATS was the same PC/104 that SpaceX uses for its flight control system. Its hard to imagine that they could be the same class computer.

Offline kevin-rf

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #4 on: 04/23/2012 03:42 pm »

No, I was questioning whether the PC/104 board used in CubeSATS was the same PC/104 that SpaceX uses for its flight control system. Its hard to imagine that they could be the same class computer.


PC/104 is a form factor/bus that is quite expandable. The bus and boards  are stackable, so you can have extra memory, I/O, storage, boards. They can be as easily powered by almost any flavor of processor (ARM,i5,Pentium,386,68K,ect...). They can be as under/overpowered as you want. Name the processor, I am sure you can find someone that is/has made a PC/104 board with it. Where I work we looked at a few PC/104 Intel i5's on a recent project (Pricey, went with a ETX board instead). 
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Offline Jim

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #5 on: 04/23/2012 03:44 pm »
Does anyone know what SpaceX is paying to use the facilities in Florida?

which facilities?

Offline JBF

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #6 on: 04/24/2012 12:37 pm »
Launch complex 40 and all associated range fees.

Does anyone know what SpaceX is paying to use the facilities in Florida?

which facilities?
"In principle, rocket engines are simple, but that’s the last place rocket engines are ever simple." Jeff Bezos

Offline Jim

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #7 on: 04/24/2012 12:46 pm »
Launch complex 40 and all associated range fees.


They pay for all range fees.  SLC-40 is leased to them at no cost.  If Spacex did not lease it, the USAF would have demolished it.  Spacex pays for all utilities and mods to the complex.

Offline JBF

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #8 on: 04/24/2012 01:07 pm »
Thanks

Launch complex 40 and all associated range fees.


They pay for all range fees.  SLC-40 is leased to them at no cost.  If Spacex did not lease it, the USAF would have demolished it.  Spacex pays for all utilities and mods to the complex.
"In principle, rocket engines are simple, but that’s the last place rocket engines are ever simple." Jeff Bezos

Offline majormajor42

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #9 on: 04/26/2012 11:47 am »
To what degree, including perhaps none at all, does the current berthing software development for COTS/CRS help SpaceX down the road when they need to write docking software for CCDev?

...water is life and it is out there, where we intend to go. I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man or machine on a body such as the Moon and harvest a cup of water for a human to drink or process into fuel for their craft.

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #10 on: 04/26/2012 02:20 pm »
Good call Danderman (not sure why we didn't have one already too!) I've added the one stop links to the first post to allow this to be a large thread.
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Offline Danderman

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #11 on: 04/26/2012 03:24 pm »
To what degree, including perhaps none at all, does the current berthing software development for COTS/CRS help SpaceX down the road when they need to write docking software for CCDev?



100% useful. Berthing is harder than docking.

Offline rtphokie

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #12 on: 04/26/2012 06:19 pm »
Has SpaceX put out a press kit for this COTS 2/3 flight yet? I'm not finding it on their website, only the COTS 1 press kit.

Offline manboy

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #13 on: 04/29/2012 05:06 am »
Has SpaceX put out a press kit for this COTS 2/3 flight yet? I'm not finding it on their website, only the COTS 1 press kit.
Not yet.
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Offline manboy

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #14 on: 04/30/2012 10:32 pm »
I know the COTS 2 mission was supposed to take place as early as 2009 but what was the first launch day reveled to the public (Ex: November 30th, 2011)? Also what kind of boat does SpaceX recover Dragon with?
« Last Edit: 05/07/2012 06:36 am by manboy »
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Offline JBF

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #15 on: 05/10/2012 12:31 pm »
For the first Dragon they used a barge and commercial crane.

I know the COTS 2 mission was supposed to take place as early as 2009 but what was the first launch day reveled to the public (Ex: November 30th, 2011)? Also what kind of boat does SpaceX recover Dragon with?
"In principle, rocket engines are simple, but that’s the last place rocket engines are ever simple." Jeff Bezos

Offline Hodapp

Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #16 on: 05/24/2012 09:16 pm »
Quick ignorant question...looked for a better thread to ask this but...
here goes

Russia, ESA, China (borrowed tech) have automated docking.
Is Space X and Orbital and NASA ever going to adopt this tech too?
Launches: 133, 134, 135, EFT-1  Space X Falcon Heavy Test  Scrubs: 134
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Offline Jorge

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #17 on: 05/24/2012 09:19 pm »
Quick ignorant question...looked for a better thread to ask this but...

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28719.0

Quote
here goes

Russia, ESA, China (borrowed tech) have automated docking.
Is Space X and Orbital and NASA ever going to adopt this tech too?

Not for cargo. CRS will continue to use berthing.

Commercial Crew Program will use docking. SpaceX, Boeing, SNC, Blue Origin, and Excalibur Almaz are involved in CCP. Orbital is not, at the moment.
JRF

Offline Hodapp

Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #18 on: 05/24/2012 09:30 pm »
Quick ignorant question...looked for a better thread to ask this but...

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=28719.0

Quote
here goes

Russia, ESA, China (borrowed tech) have automated docking.
Is Space X and Orbital and NASA ever going to adopt this tech too?

Not for cargo. CRS will continue to use berthing.

Commercial Crew Program will use docking. SpaceX, Boeing, SNC, Blue Origin, and Excalibur Almaz are involved in CCP. Orbital is not, at the moment.
Thx!
Launches: 133, 134, 135, EFT-1  Space X Falcon Heavy Test  Scrubs: 134
Future: EM-1 & EM-2

Offline TJL

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Re: SpaceX Q&A
« Reply #19 on: 05/26/2012 01:53 am »
Any photos or results released from instruments (SCIFLI) monitoring launch activities from the North Atlantic aboard Freedom?
Thank you.

 

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