SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon COTS Demo (C2+) PRE LAUNCH UPDATES

[manboy]

Suff notes about how they are verifying a system, but NASA doesn't access the design elements of the spacecraft. Thinks it's been a fascinating process because they had so many years perfecting everything from the ground up. Now they have gone to a company and given them a requirement. SpaceX engineers learned a lot from the NASA guys, and the NASA guys have learned from the way the SpaceX guys dealt tackling similar problems.

Q) On cargo breakdown.

Suff: It is crew provisions, food, some replacement consumables. One nanorack payload (student experiments). 521 kg up, 660 kg down, but the latter not finalized. Looking at non-required ORUs on the down manifest side, it's in the plan. (Pump, multi-filtration beds, and comm box for JAXA).

I thought they said a power supply box for JAXA.

[Chris Bergin]

Who holds the main authority.

Ms Ridings: SpaceX prior to integrated ops. Go/No Gos is run by MCC-H. Abort is MCC-H authority. ISS problems is MCC-H's call to stop Dragon arriving.

Huge media list, but a lot no longer on the line.

Q) How much money have SpaceX spent.

Elon: Several hundred million in venture capital (some from me) and NASA money and other customers. Somewhere around a billion dollars over the life of SpaceX.

More on Money.

4-10 times if a traditional NASA dev was used.

Bill Harwood on Range and windows.

Mr Ridings: April 30, and May 3, mid to late May window after Soyuz.

On issues that have been worked.

Mission success capabilities required join operation reviews, such as aborts. Did some prelim work, but took extra time to ensure a solid plan for a higher probability.

Elon: Hardware loop testing and validation of the software - a vast amount of intellegence. Very complex system.

[Chris Bergin]

Q) MMT authority?

Suff: IMMT (Station MMT).

Q) On US rockets after relying on Russian rockets.

Suff: We couldn't be more pleased. Very important to have US capability. Commercializing LEO. Very important step to move to exploration to allow NASA to start focusing on BEO.

Mr Gerstenmaier notes the downmass. Likes how SpaceX worked hard issues like EMI problems, engine delamination. But what we're asking them to do on this flight is amazing. Six computers and 18 engines to get to the SSRMS is very demanding.

Q) On the hardware loop:

Elon: We have a replication of the avionics on a bench, a brain in a tub , which we watch during simulations (there version of SAIL?). A huge number of tests to reduce failures. The last month of so involved false aborts, where Dragon got too worried and aborted the mission. Needs to learn when it's ok and when it needs to abort.

Presser over.

[Chris Bergin]

NASA TV coverage!

[Chris Bergin]

Suff notes about how they are verifying a system, but NASA doesn't access the design elements of the spacecraft. Thinks it's been a fascinating process because they had so many years perfecting everything from the ground up. Now they have gone to a company and given them a requirement. SpaceX engineers learned a lot from the NASA guys, and the NASA guys have learned from the way the SpaceX guys dealt tackling similar problems.

Q) On cargo breakdown.

Suff: It is crew provisions, food, some replacement consumables. One nanorack payload (student experiments). 521 kg up, 660 kg down, but the latter not finalized. Looking at non-required ORUs on the down manifest side, it's in the plan. (Pump, multi-filtration beds, and comm box for JAXA).

I thought they said a power supply box for JAXA.

Probably. My brain was in a tub by that point

[racshot65]

Bill G

Did FRR today
Not a shuttle flight review, didn’t look at all aspects just the ISS part. Similar to HTV and ATV, make sure were ready to go
Teams are well prepared. SpaceX gave us an introductory review. SpaceX team have done a tremendous amount of work on hardware and software. Was very impressed, have made tremendous progress as a team.
Have 1 simulation left.
More software testing to do.
April 30th launch date, but still lots to be done Good chance we could make it. Will meet again on April 23rd
Impressed by discussion between NASA and SpaceX


Mike S

Always excited when a vehicle comes to ISS but this will be historic
Beginning of a long term effort.
Successful FRR, verified safety of vehicle in 2km ellipsoid around ISS
Spent last couple of years and months with SpaceX working through verifications and requirements. Testing that we dictated and SpaceX’s testing.
We cleaned up our verifications. They send us test reports and we confirm vehicle is ready to go.
In good shape have some non standard open work, related to hardware in the loop testing. (Bringing hardware and software together)
NASA and SpaceX have grown together and learned a lot from one another
Left it to SpaceX to define their mission parameters
SpaceX will bring up 521kg of cargo (real hardware)
Will return 660kg of cargo, some we want back to refurbish
All hardware involved with this we can afford to loose


Alan L

After we decided to end shuttle we would have like to have purchased services to resupply ISS so we thought like investors and wanted to become a consumer of services.
5 years ago we set the program objectives and learnt to think like investors and placed investments to stimulate the industry.
In Dec 2008 we awarded SAA and resupply contracts
Have monitored SpaceX’s performance through milestones and we only pay them after a milestone is achieved.
37/40 milestones completed.

Have a partnership with Orbital
They started 1.5 years later than SpaceX and are making good progress.
They plan to fly later this year with Antares out of Wallops
Have 5 milestones left

We got additional funding last year to increase the chance of success of the program.
Mostly more system level testing.

Objectives of this flight (C2)
A flyby beneath the station 2.5km away.
Will execute some manoeuvres
Same tests HTV and ATV had to pass
SpaceX asked last year if they could approach and berth on this flight.
Did some analysis and we agreed to it.
18 days of cargo transfer then they unberth and return home
We call this mission C2+


Elon M

Thanks NASA for the opportunity
SpaceX wouldn’t have been able to get started without NASA’s help
Thanks the American public for funding this
A lot can go wrong; the rocket needs to perform as well as the space craft
Proximity opps and berthing systems will be test for the first time in space
All work on the ground has been done with simulations and approximations
This is a test flight so if we don’t succeed in berthing we have more missions later this year.
We’ve tried to design a dragon that’s similar for cargo and humans
Static firing coming up, to check were OK to launch


Holly W

Have been working hard for multiple years leading up to this day
Need to make sure the two control teams can communicate
Write documentation and flight rules and make sure the teams are trained to use this information
Last simulation is a final clean run the polish before we fly, looking forward to doing it
ISS crew has been working hard to prepare for the mission
Timeframe were launching in means we have 2 crew members available to do opps.
Launch and phasing is SpaceX’s responsibility until they get close to the station
Once they get close to station, interaction with NASA team begins to ensure safety of the station
After departure SpaceX take over again.
Fly under is important as it the first time dragon and ISS talk, the first time the crew send dragon a command (turns on a light)
Also gather navigation data to make sure the system is working
Houston has final authority within 2.5km
Will pause automatically at 250m hold point
Complete some demonstration objectives.
Make go / no go decision
Will move to 30m and dragon stops automatically
Carry out another go / no go poll
Crew heavily involved
Move to 10m point (capture point)
Another go / no go poll
Give final go for capture and tell crew
Then the crew inhibit ISS thrusters and the dragon thrusters are inhibited  and capture dragon with the arm
Dragon is then berthed after checking the berthing mechanism is free of debris.
Coming up the R bar takes about 7.5 hours
Open the hatch the next morning and start cargo transfer
Dragon makes 3 burns to depart, we check its on a safe trajectory and the SpaceX team are in charge



Questions

Q:

A: Software work going on, hardware in the loop testing. Provide reports back to the NASA team and we look at it. Do testing of the vehicle in Florida. No formal reviews of these activities. FRR of the engines, propellant loading. SpaceX then do their own review. Not completely there on launching on the 30th but we got enough assurance today that’s it’s the right date to head for.


Q: Has NASA invested 381 million in SpaceX ?

A: Yes


Q: What does Texas need to do to make it an attractive place to launch?

A: Local authorities are taking a lot of good actions. 3rd launch site will help us ensure we don’t encounter a launch site constraint. Looking at a shuttle pad at Kennedy


Q: Weather constraints for the launch ?

A: Similar to shuttle, are earing on the side of caution. Lighting rules and visibility same as EELV. Less restrictive wind rules compared to shuttle.


Q: Is this is 100% successful whats the next step ?

A: Steady stream of flights to ISS. Due to similarities between cargo and crew dragon, we learn a lot to help us with human launches on these flights. In a perfect world were 3 years away from launching crews.


Q: Role of the international partners?

A: Entire partnership benefits. Commercial vehicles will provide majority of upmass for the USOS.  We have to prove to the partnerships we meet the requirements and don’t cause any harm to the ISS. We provide them with the data they need.


Q: Connection between SpaceX and HTV ?

A: Learned a lot from HTV, did a similar approach when it approached for the first time. Verify capability before we commit to using it. Hollys team got used to getting the data from a partner. Learnt how to exchange data and developed the procedures we need. Berthing between SpaceX and HTV is very similar. Camera opps and overlays are similar to HTV. HTV made things easier for SpaceX to approach due to similarities. Elon talks again about how the lessons they learn from these cargo flights will help with crew launches.


Q: Do you feel a lot of pressure to succeed due to the opponents to commercial space ?

A: Some people will put too much weight on this test flight, we may not succeed. Hope to have 2 more flights later this year. If this one doesn’t succeed confident one of those will. We will get to the ISS. If we don’t get there it shouldn’t be taken as a verdict on commercial crew transport.


Q: Timeline for next 2 flights?

A: Need to work with NASA. One in the summer, one at end of the year.


Q: What time after lift off will you be at the red arrow? (Philip!)

A: Will be at red arrow after 38 / 39 hours. (FD3)


Q: Where isn’t there a daily launch opportunity? (Philip!)

A: Mission specific demonstrations. (Fly under, some other objectives and analysis) SpaceX have also reserved some margin for contingencies. ISS trajectories with Soyuz and progress etc. Add all these up and you end up with those launch dates. After the flight and we review the data we can get back to back launch dates like shuttle. Future launches will be closer to daily opps.


Q: Any constraints if you scrub?

A: Range conflicts, beta cut outs. Constraint and rule cut outs, e.g dragon and soyuz on top of each other. Dragon has constraints for recovery, they want to land in daylight.


Q: Main reason for the slips, whats proven hard?

A: Not the rocket. Tricky part was prox opps and berthing systems. LIDAR, thermal imagers. Communication system. New elements like electronics. Solar arrays, radiators. Software testing and its interaction with the hardware. 18 engines and 6 computers means the test matrix is huge.  Dragon is autonomous, don’t have someone to make real time corrections. Have to test all of this.


Q: What preparations are being done in orbit?

A: Practice with the robotic arm. Do some grappling practice. Have a simulator they can practice with. Do some familiarisation work with cameras and computers etc. Some self study also.


Q: If a test doesn’t work can you retry?

A: Maybe, some of the early tests could be redone depending on SpaceX’s margins. If were under the station you have to go around and try again, depends on propellant. R bar tests need to be done quickly as they use a lot of propellant. If they don’t work, you can’t continue at that time, may be able to redo them the next day.


Q: Differences & Challenges on the NASA side?

A: Getting used to not being in charge of the whole flight. We’re verifying a system based on performance requirements. We don’t have access to the designs of every box etc. Biggest adjustment was learning about different ways to solve the same problem when talking with the SpaceX teams. We gained experience with this when international partners built hardware for the ISS.


Q: What cargo is on the flight ?

A: Food, replacement consumables. 1 nano rack payload. Crew provisions. Down manifest is still being tweaked. We want to return some ORU’s to refurbish and save money. A Pump, multi-filtration beds, and a box for JAXA


Q: How much money has SpaceX spent to get here?

A: Don’t know the exact number, several hundred millions of dollars in VC funding. Around a billion dollars.


Q: Chances of success?

A: Don’t want to give an exact number. Chances of F9 working are good, as well as non berthing part of Dragon.


Q: Cost for NASA to build similar capability in the traditional way?

A: 4-10X as much


Q: If SpaceX doesn’t get off in the first 2 attempts where will it slip to?

A: Windows late April, early May. After Soyuz window mid – late May.


Q: What issues have you been working the last few months?

A: From an opps perspective recovering from aborts.   Hardware loop testing and software validation.


Q: Feeling inside NASA ?

A: Couldn’t be more pleased with what were off to go do. We’re helping commercialise LEO and want NASA to focus on exploration beyond LEO. Were excited about this next step. This is critical to the station. Encouraging to see SpaceX work difficult issues with EMI and engine lamination. Tested more than they had to. What were asking SpaceX to do is amazing.


Q: Hardware in the loop issue?

A: Have a complete dragon avionics system on a bench and we watch is pretend to fly to the ISS. We simulate failures at the worst possible time. Not worried about any single test. False aborts have been an issue due to being too cautious.

[manboy]

Some new videos

[Chris Bergin]

Heh, nice work Aaron!!

Rebump of Pete's excellent article with a lot of meat from L2's SpaceX Dragon C2/C3 or C2+ Special Section

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/frr-sets-april-30-dragons-first-flight-fully-prepared-iss/

I have a mission profile article via L2 content (and today's presser helps for human quotes) to come.

[Mapperuo]

Live coverage of grapple & berth starts at 2am, With Grapple at 8am and berthing at 12pm.. Quite a long day. 

[Chris Bergin]

Live coverage of grapple & berth starts at 2am, With Grapple at 8am and berthing at 12pm.. Quite a long day. 

And worth mentioning, we'll have live launch day update thread (public side and L2 side). We'll also have a live FD3 and FD4 coverage threads.

[Silmfeanor]

Live coverage of grapple & berth starts at 2am, With Grapple at 8am and berthing at 12pm.. Quite a long day. 

And worth mentioning, we'll have live launch day update thread (public side and L2 side). We'll also have a live FD3 and FD4 coverage threads.

Enough for me to finally cave in and get an L2 subscription then!

[Robotbeat]

Thanks, everyone.

I wonder if they have the option of aborting to the ocean if there's a problem with solar array deployment?

[John44]

ISS SpaceX/Dragon Post-Flight Readiness Review Preflight Briefing
110 minutes / 780 MB  (tomorrow I upload a small version)
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7480

[Orbiter]

Live coverage of grapple & berth starts at 2am, With Grapple at 8am and berthing at 12pm.. Quite a long day. 

And worth mentioning, we'll have live launch day update thread (public side and L2 side). We'll also have a live FD3 and FD4 coverage threads.

So, you're doing this pretty much identical to a shuttle mission? That's pretty sweet!

Orbiter

[Antares]

Elon: We have a replication of the avionics on a bench, a brain in a tub , which we watch during simulations (there version of SAIL?).

Per one of the SAA Amendments, I think it's called Dragon Force:
http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/hearings/052611_Shotwell%20Testimony.pdf

Full Dragon EMI/EMC Test, Second Flight-Like HITL (Dragon Force):
A full-scale EMI/EMC test is final verification that the vehicle’s electrical components will not interfere with either each other or external electrical components such as the ISS. This test will verify both radiated emissions and susceptibility. SpaceX will also develop another complete Hardware in the loop simulator called Dragon Force to ensure that multiple hardware and software test scenarios can run in parallel.

[Chris Bergin]

Yay Silmfeanor ! The servers will eat tonight!

So, you're doing this pretty much identical to a shuttle mission? That's pretty sweet!

Orbiter

As much as we can. Such as there's no notable FD2 coverage (unless SpaceX webcast something themselves), but this is all hugely important, so no stone left unturned. Won't be as "good" as Shuttle, as that really was 24/7 coverage by nature of the mission and NTV, but it'll be second only to Shuttle. And remember, that was human missions.

No Sleep Till Wheels Stop... I mean Splashdown?

[Silmfeanor]

Yay Silmfeanor ! The servers will eat tonight!

Gotta wait for the money to get to paypall...
Other then that, I'm really looking forward to this mission. I can't WAIT till I see the dragon getting grappled by a robot arm.
And i'll be getting nervous for days before it launches, hoping everything will be allright.
My confidence of this has been puffed up by this FRR thing and NASA's preliminary Ok, though!

[Zed_Noir]

No Sleep Till Wheels Stop... I mean Splashdown?

Think no rest until they hoisted the Dragon aboard the recovery ship. 

[Rocket Guy]

  - Launch opportunities consist of a 3 day pattern, so after May 3rd would be May 6th, 2012.

Not entirely true, there are other range users, and hence Spacex does not get to repeat indefinitely.

Good point, I've forgotten that the Atlas V now is on the range for May 5th.

Orbiter

ULA & AF have confirmed that SpaceX has May 3 as their backup, then Atlas May 5 (or 6) and then SpaceX would presumably try again the 9th.

If SpaceX slips ahead of time, or if their scrub requires more than 72 hours, Atlas could potentially move up to May 3. They are currently working towards a May 3 target just in case.

[robertross]

Mr Gerstenmaier notes the downmass. Likes how SpaceX worked hard issues like EMI problems, engine delamination. But what we're asking them to do on this flight is amazing. Six computers and 18 engines to get to the SSRMS is very demanding.


Presser over.

Thanks for that Chris, and Aaron.

Just another case of software it seems... (for the most part)

The downmass should be a great step in the right direction to make better use of ISS utilization. On that part alone I commend SpaceX for their efforts - it is crucial.