How many Crew Dragons does SpaceX have in its fleet?
Quote from: clongton on 10/04/2022 05:32 pmHow many Crew Dragons does SpaceX have in its fleet?Four (Endeavour, Endurance, Resilience, Freedom)https://www.elonx.net/list-of-dragon-capsules/
Quote from: scr00chy on 10/04/2022 05:39 pmQuote from: clongton on 10/04/2022 05:32 pmHow many Crew Dragons does SpaceX have in its fleet?Four (Endeavour, Endurance, Resilience, Freedom)https://www.elonx.net/list-of-dragon-capsules/SpaceX does not intend to build any more Crew Dragons. Crew-5 is the eighth mission. SpaceX (and NASA?) have rated the capsules for 5 flights apiece, so 20 total (12 more). The existing manifest has 12 more missions. My guess: they will re-evaluate and extend past 5 missions per capsule.
At the risk of repeating a movie line... it's not entirely true. I'm still hearing a 5th crew capsule is under construction at Hawthorne. Whether they decide to move ahead with full build of it could be different of course but I suspect they'd like to have an extra one around that is just not long from finished so they can put it in the fleet in a "just in case" scenario. We'll see though, not the same certification requirements for crew or cargo so re-certification may be harder past 5 flights for crew capsules than cargo. All of this is of course not really related to Crew-5...
Falcon 9 and Dragon are looking good for tomorrow’s Crew-5 launch at 12:00 p.m. ET; teams are keeping an eye on winds along the ascent corridor. Webcast will go live at 8:35 a.m. ET → spacex.com/launches/crew-…
Targeting later that day, at 4:10 p.m. PT, for Falcon 9’s launch of Starlink from California
NASA, SpaceX Proceeding to Crew-5 LaunchNASA will provide coverage of the upcoming launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station.Crew-5 launch remains targeted for noon EDT Wednesday, Oct. 5, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to dock to the space station at 4:57 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6.Throughout the day, mission teams reviewed the status of the Falcon 9 recovery ship, called Just Read the Instructions, which is ready to support booster recovery. SpaceX teams also successfully replaced a thrust vector control actuator on one of nine Merlin first stage engines and fixed a small leak in the portable fire extinguisher system inside Dragon. Both changes were found in the process of final prelaunch verification checkouts and ensure we have the best systems in place to support a crew launch.Weather officials with the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a greater than 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff of the Crew-5 mission based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. The primary weather concerns for the launch area are the cumulus cloud and flight through precipitation rules. Teams also will monitor weather conditions both for the launch area and downrange for the flight of Dragon, which remain a watch item due to high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ian along the mid-Atlantic coast.Crew-5 prelaunch, launch, and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Follow along at:www.nasa.gov/live The Crew-5 flight will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the space station for a science expedition mission. The astronauts will fly on the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft and will launch on a new Falcon 9 booster.NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):Wednesday, Oct. 58:30 a.m. – NASA TV launch coverage begins. NASA Television will have continuous mission coverage to docking and coverage of hatch open and the welcome ceremony.1:30 p.m. (approximately) – Postlaunch News Conference on NASA TVKathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA HeadquartersSteve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, KennedyJoel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, JohnsonBenji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceXHiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology DirectorateSergei Krikalev, executive director, Human Space Flight Programs, RoscosmosMedia may ask questions in-person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, at: [email protected].Thursday, Oct. 64:57 p.m. – Docking to the International Space Station6:42 p.m. – Hatch Opening8:15 p.m. – Welcome CeremonyFollow along with launch activities on the commercial crew blog. Learn more about commercial crew and space station activities by following @Commercial_Crew, @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the Commercial Crew Facebook, ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.Author Patti BiellingPosted on October 4, 2022Categories Commercial Crew, Commercial Spaceflight, International Space Station, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, NASA Astronauts, SpaceX, SpaceX Crew-5Tags Commercial Crew Program, Crew-4, Crew-5, Dragon spacecraft Endurance, Falcon 9 rocket, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Launch Complex 39A, NASA, NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, spacex
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon Endurance spacecraft atop, is vertical at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 1, 2022, ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 launch, targeted for noon EDT on Oct. 5, 2022. Photo credit: SpaceX