SpaceX COTS Demo 2/3 Updates (THREAD 2)

[Maciej Olesinski]

(filename suggests it was uploaded on the 9th or something like that)

Having some fun with the file names, I came across a number of pictures I hadn't seen before. I scanned through 20 or 30 pages of the thread and the spacex update and facebook pages to make sure they hadn't been posted before, so hopefully they aren't just new to me.

Maybe a view from inside the dragon?
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-002.jpg

I think this is an engine. Reminds me of the robots from the movie Short Circuit.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-004.jpg

Boring to me, but what the heck.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-003.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-006.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-007.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-008.jpg

Bunch of dudes standing around looking at an apparently fascinating wall. I won't comment on the denim shorts.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-009.jpg

Wow! Thats impressive! Very good idea.
I have created program that simply scans for pictures by date:

SpaceXSpy
Nothing new this year

[Prober]

from the FB page of SpaceX

Finally!

thats the pic I've wanted to see......she's grown a bit

[Robotbeat]

(filename suggests it was uploaded on the 9th or something like that)

Having some fun with the file names, I came across a number of pictures I hadn't seen before. I scanned through 20 or 30 pages of the thread and the spacex update and facebook pages to make sure they hadn't been posted before, so hopefully they aren't just new to me.

Maybe a view from inside the dragon?
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-002.jpg

I think this is an engine. Reminds me of the robots from the movie Short Circuit.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-004.jpg

Boring to me, but what the heck.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-003.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-006.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-007.jpg
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-008.jpg

Bunch of dudes standing around looking at an apparently fascinating wall. I won't comment on the denim shorts.
http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-009.jpg

Wow! Thats impressive! Very good idea.
I have created program that simply scans for pictures by date:

SpaceXSpy
Nothing new this year

LOL!

[RocketmanUS]

For COTS demo 2/3 flight when were all the Falcon 9 and Dragon parts delivered to the Cape?

When were they assembled together?

In reply #856
4th picture down 006.jpg what is that off?

[Antares]

Looks like an engine section with the first engine installed, before the other 8 and the aft shield.  Compare with reply #853 in the hangar.

[corrodedNut]

In reply #856
4th picture down 006.jpg what is that off?

What Antares said. Compare to this:

"After integrating the nine Merlin 1C engines into the thrust structure
assembly it will be ready for shipment to Texas."

[corrodedNut]

For COTS demo 2/3 flight when were all the Falcon 9 and Dragon parts delivered to the Cape?

1st stage (and interstage) arrived April 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52357
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52410

2nd stage arrived July 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=54802

Dragon arrived October 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=56652

Trunk arrived shortly after.

[RocketmanUS]

For COTS demo 2/3 flight when were all the Falcon 9 and Dragon parts delivered to the Cape?

1st stage (and interstage) arrived April 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52357
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52410

2nd stage arrived July 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=54802

Dragon arrived October 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=56652

Trunk arrived shortly after.

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

[Comga]

from the FB page of SpaceXer

Great!
Very interesting.
Still a lot of visible work to do in less than five weeks. 
More, more!

[Jorge]

For COTS demo 2/3 flight when were all the Falcon 9 and Dragon parts delivered to the Cape?

1st stage (and interstage) arrived April 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52357
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=52410

2nd stage arrived July 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=54802

Dragon arrived October 2011:
http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=56652

Trunk arrived shortly after.

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

If by "the vehicle" you mean only hardware, possibly yes.

[Jim]

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

Based on what?  They still might not be finished testing.

[Comga]

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

Based on what?  They still might not be finished testing.

 The question is more unknowable hypotheticals (unless you get an answer from Musk, in which case its a known hypothetical from someone prone to, let's say, optimism.)

We will know that they believe they are ready to launch when they launch.  Then we will find out if they are ready to launch.

[Robotbeat]

Software wasn't really ready, though.

[Antares]

To be clear, NASA will tell SpaceX, when SpaceX has sufficiently proven Dragon through ground tests and analyses, that SpaceX can launch so that Dragon may prove out remaining functions via on-orbit demonstration and thereby prove that Dragon is as safe as required to approach Station.

[RocketmanUS]

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

Based on what?  They still might not be finished testing.

 The question is more unknowable hypotheticals (unless you get an answer from Musk, in which case its a known hypothetical from someone prone to, let's say, optimism.)

We will know that they believe they are ready to launch when they launch.  Then we will find out if they are ready to launch.

It was to launch last June 6th. I would have assumed they would have had a F9 and Dragon ready by then. So maybe the question should be then , why was there such a delay in getting the F9/Dragon to the Cape and ready for the next flight?

[quixote]

I have created program that simply scans for pictures by date:

I did the same, just with wget and bash. If you run your program regularly, remember to check for both 2 and 3 digit series numbers. If you take a look at the pictures from 1209, they are formed like this: 20111209-12.jpg. They also occasionally vary them with alpha characters on the end (like 20111207-010a.jpg vs 20111207-010b.jpg).

[ugordan]

Still a lot of visible work to do in less than five weeks. 

They have a tendency not to release fresh images, but rather ones taken a couple of weeks earlier. I wouldn't assume this was taken at the T-5 weeks point.

[Garrett]

They have a tendency not to release fresh images, but rather ones taken a couple of weeks earlier. I wouldn't assume this was taken at the T-5 weeks point.

Just had to check out that statement, and it appears true from a rudimentary test:
The following photo, http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20111207-001.jpg, has a name that suggests it was taken on Dec 7th 2011, but in the EXIF metadata of the jpeg you can see it was taken on Nov 1st. So, assuming the EXIF info is correct and that the photo was released around Dec 7th (not sure of that), that's a five week delay.

I haven't checked out their other photos to see if they follow a similar time delay. I presume someone here could write a small script to download and analyze a bunch of photos on the SpaceX server and compare EXIF/timestamp/filename info. Before SpaceX realize that they've left the EXIF data and remove it!

[Comga]

from the FB page of SpaceX

Nice detective work, Garrett.  With it, the image is probably from 13 weeks before launch.  That does make sense.

In the photo, we can see about half of each pontoon.  I see six openings.  Four appear to be for access to the latches that hold the pontoon to the trunk during launch.  Anyone have any information (or guesses) as to the purposes of the access ports on the upper left and lower right?

It's hard to see, but it doesn't look like there is sufficient room for the pontoon covers to pivot away from the PICA-X heatshield.  That implies that these covers are ejected.   Has anyone seen this event on a timeline?  There was a CRS CGI video somewhere that showed the solar panels deploying, but it predates this configuration.

It is amusing and not surprising how things that start out as simple illustrations get more and more complex when implemented.   

[wolfpack]

So this F9/Dragon could have been able to launch as early as November as far as the vehicle was concerned?

Based on what?  They still might not be finished testing.

You'll never know. Big difference between gov't orgs and private industry. Private industry always plays "schedule chicken" as I like to call it. See who blinks first. Elon said they were ready to fly in November when, of course, the Soyuz failure meant there was no chance they would be allowed to. So were they really ready? My guess is no. Now that there's a real launch date, you'll see things get adjusted to make it. For example, Orbcomm got dropped. My industry is similar in at least that regard. Always interesting to see the features on a chip at PDR versus what gets axed as the tapeout date approaches. It's always something, and always more than one thing. Of course, we'd never advertise that. No, no. Our stuff is perfect. Always.