SpaceX COTS Demo 2/3 Updates (THREAD 2)

[docmordrid]

Some others I've run across....

Europe: Rage, Weyr, Dignity or Hold (Hold = nuclear family)

Japan: Tatsu

I really like a rage of Dragons

[Nomadd]

 How many would it take to be a Sierra Lima of Dragons?

[mduncan36]

Oversized trucking is not a skill that shared among other skills.  There is also working the state permits.  This is a task for a xportation firm and not an aerospace contractor.

Agreed. At the plant where I work we move oversize vessels, tanks, all kinds of stuff more often than Spacex, and ship regular loads every day. All of this is outsourced to logistics operations that retain the people, equipment, and skills to do it. Even a nice truck isn't that expensive but it's also the cheapest part. People, certifications, insurance, and related items are what drives companies to turn this over to outfits that do it all day every day.

[mikes]

Europe: Rage, Weyr, Dignity or Hold (Hold = nuclear family)

"Hold" is the term McCaffrey uses in her Pern series

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pern

[docmordrid]

I guess if DragonRider is the nick for crew Dragon Hold would be appropriate. Up to Elon though.

[Ben the Space Brit]

I guess if DragonRider is the nick for crew Dragon Hold would be appropriate. Up to Elon though.

Speaking as a McCaffery Fanboi, the most appropriate term would be "Hawthorne Weyr".

[bob the martian]

Can someone explain the separation line running around the middle of the COTS 2/3 capsule? It does not appear in the COTS 1 capsule. Will molding of some kind fill that space in?

I assume you're talking about the line that runs along the outermost edge of the pressure vessel, right above the Draco outlets.  Yes, that will be covered by the thermal protection layer (you can just barely see a hint of an indication of that line on the COTS-1 spacecraft). 

The channel that runs upward diagonally is for the parachute lines; you can also see that on the COTS-1 spacecraft (it's on the right side, running the opposite direction of the scorch marks). 

[starsilk]

I guess if DragonRider is the nick for crew Dragon Hold would be appropriate. Up to Elon though.

'Hold' is probably not a helpful word in a spaceflight situation... slightly better than an 'Abort' of Dragons, but not much.. 

[Cherokee43v6]

I guess if DragonRider is the nick for crew Dragon Hold would be appropriate. Up to Elon though.

Speaking as a McCaffery Fanboi, the most appropriate term would be "Hawthorne Weyr".

I'm with Ben...

Hold is where the non-dragonriders live.
Weyr is where the dragon's live (lc is an individual dragon's home)
Wing is the smallest grouping of dragons
Flight is the next largest grouping (usually 2 or 3 to a Weyr)

You might also consider a 'Faire' of Dragons, though that term is generally used for the fire-lizards (bird-sized cousins of the Dragons)

[cro-magnon gramps]

I guess if DragonRider is the nick for crew Dragon Hold would be appropriate. Up to Elon though.

'Hold' is probably not a helpful word in a spaceflight situation... slightly better than an 'Abort' of Dragons, but not much.. 

The Hold, is a Human Community, headed by a Founding Family, Dragons only visited Holds during the last interval;

the Weyr is where the Dragons had their Nesting Caverns, and prospective Dragonriders were brought after Searches for telepaths who could communicate with Dragons, and would be present to the Dragon Eggs on Hatching Day, for selection by a Dragon;

so yeah Hawthorn Weyr is about right; hmmmmm that would mean we would have to call Elon, Lord Musk as he isn't a dragonrider ;0 the lead dragonrider would be called weyrleader

oh, and a group of Dragons would be called a Wing so it would be proper to call these 4 Dragons, the Hawthorn Weyr Wing

now wouldn't it be cool to name the capsules after Pern Dragons 

[Chandonn]

I think we're straying a bit.  Maybe we should just call it a fleet of dragons and move on to other Demo 2/3 news.  Or move the discussion to the SpaceX general, or another, thread.

[SpacexULA]

Here's a picture for you guys, from SpaceX's facebook page:
4 Dragons!
It shows COTS demo 1 Dragon, the one that just shipped out, and two other Dragons in various stages of assembly.

Something about a Capsule production line makes me very happy.  I have been looking for the last 25 minutes (my googlefo must be weak today).  Are there any images of similar production lines for Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo?

[Ronsmytheiii]

Workers lift the transportation canister from the latest Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon capsule to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 23 so it can be processed and attached to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket on Space Launch Complex-40 for the company's next demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=4

[dragon44]

Are there any images of similar production lines for Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo?

Here is one of Mercury from collectSPACE.com
http://www.collectspace.com/review/boeing_ieeemercury01-lg.jpg

[dragon44]

Not a SpaceX truck.

[arnezami]

Not a SpaceX truck.

Imagine driving a truck with a payload worth more than a 50 million dollars...

Then tallk to your wife: "Ow I just transported some cargo accross the country. No big deal."

[Lars_J]

Nice pictures! And finally a great shot of the front.
Misc observations:

 - No hatch window.
 - The bay door has three points that look like they will align with the 3 points above the door (when swung open), presumably for added structural support for the grapple fixture mounted behind the door.
 - Lots of changes to mold lines around the thrusters and hatch compared to the COTS1 Dragon.
 - The open area next to the bay door must be the new location for the capsule umbilicals, OR the trunk umbilical connection port.

Definitely some significant changes... A Block 0 vs Block 1, I suppose.

[notherspacexfan]

Nice pictures! And finally a great shot of the front.
Misc observations:

 - No hatch window.
 - The bay door has three points that look like they will align with the 3 points above the door (when swung open), presumably for added structural support for the grapple fixture mounted behind the door.
 - Lots of changes to mold lines around the thrusters and hatch compared to the COTS1 Dragon.
 - The open area next to the bay door must be the new location for the capsule umbilicals, OR the trunk umbilical connection port.

Definitely some significant changes... A Block 0 vs Block 1, I suppose.

The windows on the back have also been removed. Compare the 4 dragon picture above with:

[ugordan]

There's also some video of the unwrapped s/c posted by WeshTV: http://www.wesh.com/r-video/29573227/detail.html

[Jason1701]

The mold lines around the thrusters aren't actually that different. The Dragon C1 picture Lars posted was before they installed the fairings seen in nother's picture.