Quote from: J-V on 05/22/2014 11:58 amHas there been any analysis what would happen if Dragon(Fly) would lose a number of SDs? In other words, how many SDs does it take to keep the crew alive or without serious injuries if parachutes are not used?That what flight tests are for.
Has there been any analysis what would happen if Dragon(Fly) would lose a number of SDs? In other words, how many SDs does it take to keep the crew alive or without serious injuries if parachutes are not used?
SpaceX has said they expected to crater some Grasshoppers. I doubt their expectations have changed for DragonFly.
I've doubted the 'slam on the brakes' landing for a while. ISTM more logical to decelerate at a lower throttle starting higher up then increase thrust for the last 100m or so.
8 SuperDraco will provide ~10g for escape when used as a LAS. So four can provide 5g, plenty more than needed. Didn't that FAA Draft Environmental Assessment have a paragraph saying they are divided into two completely independent sets? That would make it extremely unlikely that both fail unless there is something wrong with the fuel.Even two might have enough thrust, provided the Dracos could do attitude control, which they may not under these conditions.
Any concerns about the capsule being tilted ~30 degrees from vertical due to the parachute attach point being on the side? See picture(s) captured from the Drop test video. Firing off the Draco Engines on landing may expect a horizontal component to the resulting motion.
Quote from: LouScheffer on 05/22/2014 11:26 amQuote from: Jarnis on 05/21/2014 04:33 pmFreefall, 5 sec burn at the last moment, soft touchdown.Whoever will ultimately ride aboard that kind of flight profile (obviously not during these tests) is a brave man Note that amusement parks do exactly this, *for fun* - freefall from an otherwise fatal height, decelerate at several Gs, stop at ground level. So if you have confidence in the machine, it should be fun, not scary!The difference between fun and scary is trust.
Quote from: Jarnis on 05/21/2014 04:33 pmFreefall, 5 sec burn at the last moment, soft touchdown.Whoever will ultimately ride aboard that kind of flight profile (obviously not during these tests) is a brave man Note that amusement parks do exactly this, *for fun* - freefall from an otherwise fatal height, decelerate at several Gs, stop at ground level. So if you have confidence in the machine, it should be fun, not scary!
Freefall, 5 sec burn at the last moment, soft touchdown.Whoever will ultimately ride aboard that kind of flight profile (obviously not during these tests) is a brave man
Finally, I guess one of the abort test articles could be used for these MK2 landing tests, but the other one is just a big welded steel pressure vessel. That also got me thinking that DragonRider can't look too different from Dragon v1 because the pressure vessels look nearly the same as v1.
Is there any indication of when testing will begin with Dragonfly?
Those fairings look reminiscent of the legs on the first stage. I wonder if fold-out legs can act as fairings until the speed is low enough for them to deploy.
Quote from: llanitedave on 05/22/2014 05:46 pmThose fairings look reminiscent of the legs on the first stage. I wonder if fold-out legs can act as fairings until the speed is low enough for them to deploy.No, I really don't think they are legs - while on the surface the fairings do look similar to stage 1 legs, they would serve a very different purpose here. Besides, such legs would be waaaay too large and heavy for a capsule this size.