Do we know whether the Polaris Dawn crew will be the crew for the other two missions, too? That wasn't clear to me
Why wouldn't SpaceX just use the Polar launch corridor from KSC?
Quote from: Brovane on 02/14/2022 03:03 pmWhy wouldn't SpaceX just use the Polar launch corridor from KSC? My (very possibly incorrect) understanding is polar launches have to go from Pad 40, not 39A due to overflight restrictions. So if they have to build more infrastructure at Vandenberg for Falcon Heavy anyway, it might be easier to add a crew access tower/arm there than at Pad 40. Also, the dog leg might take more performance than a straight due-south launch out of Vandenberg.But if they can go polar out of 39A, that might be something to try.
I was not aware Crew Dragon could depress/repress. Apparently it can, I guess. Or is SpaceX upgrading something for these missions?
If the atmosphere is even more contaminated, it can be vented to near-vacuum and replaced with clean nitrox using both cabin repress valve sets.
Quote from: M.E.T. on 02/14/2022 01:40 pmThey won’t invest heavily in further Dragon development. I am not allowed to go into details (per my sources), but I can say that your assessment is not entirely correct.
They won’t invest heavily in further Dragon development.
Quote from: woods170 on 02/14/2022 01:52 pmQuote from: M.E.T. on 02/14/2022 01:40 pmThey won’t invest heavily in further Dragon development. I am not allowed to go into details (per my sources), but I can say that your assessment is not entirely correct.Since dragon to orbit, and docking with SS, and similar docking with SS, then Dragon EDL is a redundancy against SS human launch and EDL risk, it makes sense to develop it as a general safety strategy. The further tweets from Isaacman mentioning docking with an SS illustrate this perfectly. I imagine that for some years the ability to land humans using Dragon, when say the SS has a potential fault like a suspect heatshield, would be a great safety procedure.Plus of course is D2. That's a development!Demonstrating that there is a parallel strategy to SLS - Starship, potentially "retires schedule risk".
I'd be very interested in what the second Dragon flight would entail, especially if "Polaris Dawn" already has a spacewalk and a higher altitude than Inspiration4.
Quote from: Orbiter on 02/14/2022 01:14 pmI'd be very interested in what the second Dragon flight would entail, especially if "Polaris Dawn" already has a spacewalk and a higher altitude than Inspiration4.I'm hoping for a privately funded Hubble servicing mission. The first flight is going to prove out a lot of capabilities that would be needed, and it would go a long way towards making amends to the astronomical community for Starlink.
Better image of the Polaris Dawn render
Quote from: bstrong on 02/14/2022 08:48 pmQuote from: Orbiter on 02/14/2022 01:14 pmI'd be very interested in what the second Dragon flight would entail, especially if "Polaris Dawn" already has a spacewalk and a higher altitude than Inspiration4.I'm hoping for a privately funded Hubble servicing mission. The first flight is going to prove out a lot of capabilities that would be needed, and it would go a long way towards making amends to the astronomical community for Starlink.There isn't replacement flight hardware for the Hubble side of that wish, so there's no servicing to be done at this point.
Bring it back for the Smithsonian.
Quote from: AU1.52 on 02/14/2022 10:13 pmBring it back for the Smithsonian.Maybe someday in a StarShip. Dragon is incapable of bringing Hubble back.
Quote from: whitelancer64 on 02/14/2022 09:19 pmBetter image of the Polaris Dawn renderI know this is an artistic licence picture but even Ed White had a jet pack to help his floating around…bobbing around at the end of a tether or hose is going to be difficult…going to have to be some railings or handholds..
Quote from: jimvela on 02/14/2022 10:17 pmQuote from: AU1.52 on 02/14/2022 10:13 pmBring it back for the Smithsonian.Maybe someday in a StarShip. Dragon is incapable of bringing Hubble back.Yes in Starship. For the 3rd Mission, if it is not producing science then.