SpaceX COTS Demo 2/3 Updates (THREAD 2)

[ugordan]

There was a review on Jan 12 or thereabouts, I'm not sure if that was also a FRR or something else (Demo Readines Review?), but this is when shortly after this latest delay was called. It's hard to keep track of this terminology.

[Nate_Trost]

Wasn't one of the reasons for the delay concerns that popped up during a simulation with actual ISS systems in the loop? Have they rerun that simulation yet, or would that be closer to the FRR?

[Ronsmytheiii]

Well, I thought that the Soyuz and Progress were launched under instantaneous windows, and yet no one spoke of the "performance shortfall" of the Soyuz rocket.... 

When was the last time a Soyuz or Proton had to scrub?

Both have had 50 years of operational experience and are launching from a climate that is reatively nondynamic compared to the Florida coast.

[Space Pete]

An April 30 launch date means that Dragon will be launching on the same day that Soyuz TMA-22/28S will be undocking & landing with three ISS crewmembers*. Three new crewmembers won't arrive at the ISS until May 17, with the Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking.

This means that the Dragon capture on May 3 will be performed by a three person ISS crew - meaning that ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers, along with US astronaut Don Pettit, must be considered a fully trained
crewmember for capture operations.

*For those of us who like pointless facts such as this, if Dragon launches on April 30, then the final Soyuz TMA (200 series) variant will return to Earth on the same day that the first station-capable Dragon (hopefully) reaches space - end of one era, start of another.

[mmeijeri]

The inclination of the ISS is because of the performance shortfall of the Soyuz rocket.

No, the inclination of the ISS was chosen because of the latitude of the Soyuz launch site. Suppose the ISS had been at 28.8 inclination, would you then have said it wasn't in an equatorial orbit because of performance limitations of US launch vehicles?

[wolfpack]

The inclination of the ISS is because of the performance shortfall of the Soyuz rocket.

No, the inclination of the ISS was chosen because of the latitude of the Soyuz launch site. Suppose the ISS had been at 28.8 inclination, would you then have said it wasn't in an equatorial orbit because of performance limitations of US launch vehicles?

And the view's better from 51 degrees versus 28!

But, back on track, what I'm getting from this conversation is that Falcon 9 doesn't do yaw steering, and kerosene isn't as good a fuel for a second stage as LH2 is.

[Antares]

Whether or not a rocket *can* do yaw steering to get back in plane is a function of the flight computer and software.  Didn't Delta II have instantaneous windows for planetary shots and A-train missions?

Whether or not a mission *does* yaw steering is a function of performance margin.  Shuttle could've been constrained to instantaneous windows had G&C used the margin elsewhere.

[Robotbeat]

The inclination of the ISS is because of the performance shortfall of the Soyuz rocket.

No, the inclination of the ISS was chosen because of the latitude of the Soyuz launch site. Suppose the ISS had been at 28.8 inclination, would you then have said it wasn't in an equatorial orbit because of performance limitations of US launch vehicles?

And the view's better from 51 degrees versus 28!

But, back on track, what I'm getting from this conversation is that Falcon 9 doesn't do yaw steering, and kerosene isn't as good a fuel for a second stage as LH2 is.

Kerosene even for a second stage isn't so bad if you're going to LEO. It starts to hurt for things like GTO and escape missions, though.

I think instead you should see that the Falcon 9 that's flying for COTS Demo 2/3 is not the block II or the Merlin 1D version.

[Orbiter]

Looking at a Monday, April 30th launch date would have a liftoff at around ~8:30 a.m. EDT.

Orbiter

[simonbp]

Didn't Delta II have instantaneous windows for planetary shots and A-train missions?

Yes, and the three A-train launches are a good analog, as they were roughly as close as you need to start an ISS approach.

[woods170]

When was the last time a Soyuz or Proton had to scrub?

Both have had 50 years of operational experience and are launching from a climate that is reatively nondynamic compared to the Florida coast.

My friend from Russia had a real good laugh over the "relatively nondynamic" part of this post.

[AnalogMan]

Looking at a Monday, April 30th launch date would have a liftoff at around ~8:30 a.m. EDT.

Orbiter

Does this take into account the two currently planned ISS orbit raising boosts by ATV-3 before that date?

[douglas100]

When was the last time a Soyuz or Proton had to scrub?

Both have had 50 years of operational experience and are launching from a climate that is reatively nondynamic compared to the Florida coast.

My friend from Russia had a real good laugh over the "relatively nondynamic" part of this post.

When was the last time NASA launched a manned spacecraft during a blizzard? 

[Archer]

Both have had 50 years of operational experience and are launching from a climate that is reatively nondynamic compared to the Florida coast.

[Orbiter]

Looking at a Monday, April 30th launch date would have a liftoff at around ~8:30 a.m. EDT.

Orbiter

Does this take into account the two currently planned ISS orbit raising boosts by ATV-3 before that date?

That is without the ATV-3 reboost, which is why I'm not sure what time it will be exactly.

Orbiter

[mr. mark]

MSNBC running with April 30th launch date... sort of
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/14/10685266-spacex-aims-for-april-30-launch-of-milestone-space-station-mission

[Rocket Guy]

It has been on the range for April 30 for weeks, that's not really new other than a spokesperson confirming they remain on target for that.

[ugordan]

"SpaceX’s launch of it's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the Space Station now is targeted for Monday, April 30, 2012 at 12:22 p.m. ET."

http://twitter.com/#!/NASA/status/180358568720072706

[psloss]

NASA-Kennedy Tweeting FRR date of April 16:
http://mobile.twitter.com/nasakennedy/status/180391697694474241

SpaceX’s demonstration launch of its Falcon 9 and Dragon to the ISS is targeted for April 30 at 12:22 p.m. EDT, pending FRR on April 16.

[psloss]

The launch is now showing up on the NASA TV schedule:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html

(These are Eastern time.)

April 30, Monday
2:30 a.m. – ISS Expedition 30/Soyuz TMA-22 Undocking  Coverage (undocking scheduled at 2:48 a.m. ET) – JSC (Public and Media Channels)
5 a.m. – ISS Expedition 30/Soyuz TMA-22 Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage (Deorbit burn scheduled at 5:19 a.m. ET, landing in Kazakhstan scheduled at 6:12 a.m. ET) – JSC via Kazakhstan (Public and Media Channels)
8 a.m. – Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/Soyuz TMA-22 Landing and Post-Landing Activities – HQ (Public and Media Channels)
11 a.m. – SpaceX/Dragon Launch Coverage Begins (Launch is scheduled at 12:22 p.m. ET) – KSC (Public, Education and Media Channels)
6 p.m. – Video File of the ISS Expedition 30/Soyuz TMA-22 Landing and Post-Landing Activities; includes post-landing interview with Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank of NASA and the return of Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin to Chkalovsky Airfield near Star City, Russia – JSC (Public and Media Channels)

(My emphasis.)