Author Topic: SpaceX COTS Demo 2 Updates (Read 448931 times)

manboy · « **Reply #740 on:** 08/09/2011 04:39 am »

Quote from: Comga on 08/09/2011 04:13 am

My copy of Av Week for August 1 just arrived by snail mail. It has a short blurb in "The World" where Garret Reisman "head of SpaceX's astronaut safety program" says that "A Nov. 30 launch date has been set", and that "Two mission packages have been combined".

Quite unambiguous
I am surprised this has not been posted. Did I miss it?

And before anyone starts on the "launch date" (their phrase) vs NET or "hardware at the launch site"...
It seems reasonable, given the extensive scheduling for events at the ISS, that the either launch that day for a fixed rendezvous date, or get bumped down the line by weeks or months. (or have to shorten the span between arrival/berthing and unberthing/departure)

edited for clarity

Here's hoping the launch doesn't slip until 2012.

Ben the Space Brit · « **Reply #741 on:** 08/09/2011 12:06 pm »

Quote from: Comga on 08/09/2011 04:13 am

I am surprised this has not been posted. Did I miss it?

The guys responsible for the US launch schedule thread certainly didn't. I saw Nov 30 'pencilled in' on the most recent revision of the 2011 schedule last weekend

[edit]
Fixed typo

corrodedNut · « **Reply #742 on:** 08/09/2011 07:59 pm »

Quote from: docmordrid on 07/20/2011 05:11 am

F9 2nd stage re-starts so why not just drop off Dragon, then light it up again to take the ORBCOMMs to their orbit (IIRC 775km)?

Yes, or at least most of the way:

http://spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/110809-strong-quarter-has-orbcomm-feeling-bullish.html

"The mission profile for this launch calls for the vehicle to drop off the Dragon capsule before reigniting its upper stage engine to place the Orbcomm spacecraft into a different orbit. The drop-off point is not ideal for Orbcomm. It will force the satellite — whether one or two are launched is still undecided, Eisenberg said — to carry itself to its operational orbit, adding risk to the mission."

I think it's safe to say only cubesats will be deployed from "in the trunk".

joek · « **Reply #743 on:** 08/10/2011 08:23 pm »

The NAC Commercial Space Committee Aug 4 presentation has been posted.

Quote

SpaceX – C2 demonstration mission scheduled for November 2011
May include berthing to ISS planned for C3 mission in March 2012
Commercial cargo resupply of ISS needed by end-2012 before impacting ISS operations

mr. mark · « **Reply #744 on:** 08/10/2011 09:53 pm »

That's vague....SpaceX – C2 demonstration mission scheduled for November 2011
May include berthing to ISS planned for C3 mission in March 2012

Ah.. are they saying that C2 may berth or that C3 may berth? I guess it's how you interpret it. Boy, we may not know anything until after Dragon has already berthed to the station! :p Talk about lack of communication. It may get to September, 2 months from a supposed launch and they still won't have made a decision.

baldusi · « **Reply #745 on:** 08/10/2011 10:12 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 08/10/2011 09:53 pm

That's vague....SpaceX – C2 demonstration mission scheduled for November 2011
May include berthing to ISS planned for C3 mission in March 2012

Ah.. are they saying that C2 may berth or that C3 may berth? I guess it's how you interpret it. Boy, we may not know anything until after Dragon has already berthed to the station! :p Talk about lack of communication. It may get to September, 2 months from a supposed launch and they still won't have made a decision.

I think it means that if everything works fine, it would get permission to berth, which would have happened in a C3 mission in March 2012 if it doesn't get said permission.

joek · « **Reply #746 on:** 08/10/2011 11:10 pm »

Quote from: baldusi on 08/10/2011 10:12 pm

I think it means that if everything works fine, it would get permission to berth, which would have happened in a C3 mission in March 2012 if it doesn't get said permission.

That's how I interpret it: Plan for C2 and C3; if all goes well with C2, C3 won't be needed.

ugordan · « **Reply #747 on:** 08/10/2011 11:13 pm »

Quote from: joek on 08/10/2011 11:10 pm

C3 won't be needed.

Rather, it becomes CRS 1.

go4mars · « **Reply #748 on:** 08/11/2011 03:12 am »

Quote from: Antares on 07/28/2011 02:08 am

[Jack sparrow] Software [/jack sparrow]

Pirating Software?

Antares · « **Reply #749 on:** 08/11/2011 03:58 am »

No, with the accent where he said "Pirate"

RocketEconomist327 · « **Reply #750 on:** 08/12/2011 03:48 am »

Quote from: Antares on 07/28/2011 02:08 am

[Jack sparrow] Software [/jack sparrow]

Just because hardware is there doesn't mean it's ready to fly. Let alone NASA verifying all of the requirements.

My emphasis... such wise words...

VR
RE327

mr. mark · « **Reply #751 on:** 08/12/2011 02:43 pm »

New update info... "docking" berthing in December
We now have heard this unofficial news from multiple Spacex and NASA sources.

The article is mostly about engine production.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/awst/2011/08/08/AW_08_08_2011_p27-354586.xml&headline=SpaceX%20Plans%20To%20Be%20Top%20World%20Rocket%20Maker&channel=defense

“The momentum increased last year, and hopefully if all goes well we’ll be docking with the International Space Station [ISS] in December,” says Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief technical officer. Describing the planned launch of its second test Dragon spacecraft as its “top priority,” Musk says the current plan calls for the third Falcon 9 launch vehicle to place the Dragon in orbit from where it will rendezvous and berth with the ISS on Dec. 9. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) flight is required to clear the way for the first of 12 regular cargo delivery flights ordered under the $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract NASA awarded the company in 2008.

Lee Jay · « **Reply #752 on:** 08/12/2011 02:53 pm »

Hopefully SpaceX can supply the ISS with a lifetime supply of cheese at that time.

baldusi · « **Reply #753 on:** 08/12/2011 05:07 pm »

They really should send a cheese up there! I would actually send a couple of nanorack experiments, too. It will take about one week on LEO before berthing. So they should be able to do something useful, and they would probably also test it's environmental system. Personally, I would stuff it with some plants to test the ECLSS.
I would also put a CD of CounterStrike, you know, about Capture the Flag

mr. mark · « **Reply #754 on:** 08/15/2011 03:12 pm »

I think it's kind of interesting that the more Spacex gets closer to the proposed COTS 2 November launch date the less the public hears from them. We have not heard a peep about the launch since April and the only pictures and information we have from pad 40 are from secondary sources. It seems Spacex has changed tactics and is now in Apple mode not showing product under construction until it is finished. Quite a change from the open company that many have come to expect over the years. It is their company though and space fans most likely should not expect any freebies. We'll have to wait and see and speculate.

jnc · « **Reply #755 on:** 08/15/2011 05:39 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 08/15/2011 03:12 pm

Quite a change from the open company that many have come to expect over the years.

You seem to be assuming that 'openness' was their motive, in and of itself? Could it possible have been something else (PR, say)? If so, that might explain a wax and wane in how much they make available.

Noel

Space Pete · « **Reply #756 on:** 08/15/2011 06:54 pm »

August 15, 2011

Over the last several months, SpaceX has been hard at work preparing for our next flight — a mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has given us a Nov. 30, 2011 launch date, which should be followed nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS.

NASA has agreed in principle to allow SpaceX to combine all of the tests and demonstration activities that we originally proposed as two separate missions (COTS Demo 2 and COTS Demo 3) into a single mission. Furthermore, SpaceX plans to carry additional payloads aboard the Falcon 9’s second stage which will deploy after Dragon separates and is well on its way to the ISS. NASA will grant formal approval for the combined COTS missions pending resolution of any potential risks associated with these secondary payloads. Our team continues to work closely with NASA to resolve all questions and concerns.

This next mission represents a huge milestone not only for SpaceX, but also for NASA and the US space program. When the astronauts stationed on the ISS open the hatch and enter the Dragon spacecraft for the first time, it will mark the beginning of a new era in space travel.

Through continued private-public partnerships like the one that helped develop the Falcon 9 and Dragon system, commercial companies will transform the way we access space. Together, government and the private sector can simultaneously increase the reliability, safety and frequency of space travel, while greatly reducing the costs.

The update below highlights our recent progress towards the combined C2/C3 mission and missions beyond. From the 1,500 team members here at SpaceX, thank you for your continued support, and for joining us in this exciting, vital adventure.

This week, we successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) for the Falcon 9 Flight 3 launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The WDR is a significant test during which we load propellant into the vehicle and perform all operations just as we would on launch day right down to T-1 seconds, at which point we abort and detank the propellant.

Since our last flight, we have made significant upgrades to the launch pad to streamline the countdown. For example, we installed new liquid oxygen (LOX) pumps that reduced our previous loading time from 90 minutes to under 30. Improvements like this are getting us closer to our long term goal of Falcon 9 going from hangar to liftoff in under an hour. This is no easy task for a vehicle with about the same takeoff weight as a fully loaded Boeing 747, but if a 747 can do it reliably day after day, then Falcon 9 can too.

In a SpaceX clean room in Hawthorne (Los Angeles) California, technicians prepare the Dragon spacecraft for thermal vacuum chamber testing. The open bays will hold the parachutes. NASA has given us a launch date of Nov 30, 2011 for Falcon 9 Flight 3, which will send a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Also in Hawthorne, we have conducted separation tests of the Dragon trunk from the Falcon 9 second stage. Release mechanisms hold the trunk (top, with solar panel covers on left and right sides) to the stage (bottom). When activated, springs on the Falcon 9 push against the Dragon trunk. The trunk separates and the test fixture’s counterbalance system raises the spacecraft up and away.

In the Hawthorne factory high bay, we tested the Dragon solar array rotary actuator by hanging the full array from the ceiling. The actuator (top center) turns the entire array. In flight, the solar panels will track the sun for maximum energy capture.

We are well into production with all parts (shown above) for the following launch, Falcon 9 Flight 4 and its Dragon CRS-1 spacecraft, which should be the first commercial cargo resupply mission under NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. Significant additional tooling and automation with be added to the factory, as we build towards the capability of producing a Falcon 9 first stage or Falcon Heavy side booster every week and an upper stage every two weeks. Depending on demand, Dragon production is planned for a rate of one every six to eight weeks.

Demolition work continues at Space Launch Complex 4 East, our new launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central coast of California. Recently, the crew dropped the big “hammerhead” overhanging structure from the legacy Titan IV Mobile Service Tower (sequence above). Removing the tower is a major step in upgrading the pad for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches. We are targeting late 2012 to bring Falcon Heavy to Vandenberg for vehicle to pad integration tests and 2013 for liftoff. Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket in the world.

Stay tuned for more updates on the combined COTS-2 and COTS-3 mission to the ISS, slated for launch on Nov 30, 2011.

Photos: http://www.spacex.com/updates.php

corrodedNut · « **Reply #757 on:** 08/15/2011 06:59 pm »

I was wondering what "solar array/pontoon" meant from the Proposed CombinedC2/C3 Mission Assessment released by NASA. I guess we now know!

Space Pete · « **Reply #758 on:** 08/15/2011 07:11 pm »

A great photo of the actual flight vehicle, complete with a CBM.

Can't wait to see this at ISS.

corrodedNut · « **Reply #759 on:** 08/15/2011 07:32 pm »

Quote from: corrodedNut on 07/19/2011 08:05 pm

What's this thing? Looks like a tank dome, but surely it can't be. Insulation? Previous photos show silver colored mylar on the 1st stage LOX dome; could it be TPS?

I'll answer my own question: It's a cover for the top of the 2nd stage, used during this weeks WDR, since the Dragon was not on the vehicle at the time.