NASA Commercial Crew Program 2016 Year in Review

[DOCinCT]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

[Negan]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Maybe they want to play with the "Big Boys" after all.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

For anyone (like me) who has not been following CC progress closely this year, the other statements about SpaceX in the review may be of interest:

SpaceX has five Crew Dragon spacecraft in different levels of assembly. The company built and successfully tested one module to prove its environmental and life support systems and another as a structural test article. The three spacecraft that will fly the flight tests and the first operational mission to the space station are in various stages of production in SpaceX’s manufacturing facilities in Hawthorne, California.

SpaceX performed five drop tests to evaluate the parachutes that must deploy to allow a returned Crew Dragon to land safely in the water. The SuperDraco engines that will be used on the first flight test were also hot-fired to qualify them for flight.

[Khadgars]

For anyone (like me) who has not been following CC progress closely this year, the other statements about SpaceX in the review may be of interest:

SpaceX has five Crew Dragon spacecraft in different levels of assembly. The company built and successfully tested one module to prove its environmental and life support systems and another as a structural test article. The three spacecraft that will fly the flight tests and the first operational mission to the space station are in various stages of production in SpaceX’s manufacturing facilities in Hawthorne, California.

SpaceX performed five drop tests to evaluate the parachutes that must deploy to allow a returned Crew Dragon to land safely in the water. The SuperDraco engines that will be used on the first flight test were also hot-fired to qualify them for flight.

Nice, thank you for posting.  Really looking forward to these tests.

[woods170]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Maybe they want to play with the "Big Boys" after all.

SpaceX committed to that upon entering the EELV certification process.

[oldAtlas_Eguy]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Maybe they want to play with the "Big Boys" after all.

SpaceX committed to that upon entering the EELV certification process.

Do we have the max lift capability of this crane?

Could it lift a 54mt payload for mount on an FH?

[soltasto]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Maybe they want to play with the "Big Boys" after all.

SpaceX committed to that upon entering the EELV certification process.

Do we have the max lift capability of this crane?

Could it lift a 54mt payload for mount on an FH?

It wouldn't matter a lot since if they don't develop also a new PAF (payload attach fitting) they can't take any payload with mass over 10,886 kg

[Negan]

SpaceX committed to that upon entering the EELV certification process.

I remember pages of debate on the issue. Glad is was as simple as this.

[woods170]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:
"The company [SpaceX] also ran a series of qualification tests on the spacesuits astronauts will wear during missions aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft. The evaluation included putting the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it withstood conditions similar to those found in space outside a spacecraft."

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Maybe they want to play with the "Big Boys" after all.

SpaceX committed to that upon entering the EELV certification process.

Do we have the max lift capability of this crane?

Could it lift a 54mt payload for mount on an FH?

Not necessary. No 54 mt national security payloads exist today, let alone in the future. If anything, those payloads have a general tendency to become smaller and lighter in stead of larger and heavier. And 54 mt commercial payloads will be integrated with the launcher while horizontal.

[launchwatcher]

And 54 mt commercial payloads will be integrated with the launcher while horizontal.

While the specific crane depicted was as plausible as the suggested undergarment-based funding model, the ITS preview video does show vertical integration of BFS (significantly more than 54mt dry if I'm not mistaken) on top of BFR at 39A.   

[woods170]

And 54 mt commercial payloads will be integrated with the launcher while horizontal.

While the specific crane depicted was as plausible as the suggested undergarment-based funding model, the ITS preview video does show vertical integration of BFS (significantly more than 54mt dry if I'm not mistaken) on top of BFR at 39A.   

You also may have noticed that was a different tower. The question about the lifting capacity of the crane for vertical integration was with regards to the current tower at LC-39A. That particular one won't need to be able to lift 54 mt payloads. What it will need to be able to lift is the entire vertical-integration cell, including the payload.

[Tomness]

Reading through the NASA Commercial Crew Program
2016 Year in Review, I came across two interesting statements:

"... the Crew Access Arm has been built, and SpaceX expects to bolt it into place on the tower in 2017. The fixed service structure and its foundations were strengthened to handle higher-force hurricane winds and to provide a stronger base for the vertical integration crane planned for the complex in the future."

LINK https://www.nasa.gov/specials/CCP2016/

Does anybody know if SpaceX will transition Cargo Dragon Late Load Items to Crew Access Arm?

[ryanpritchard01]

Also will space x still raise the fss or is the the right height for the crew access arm

[getitdoneinspace]

Also will space x still raise the fss or is the the right height for the crew access arm

During the presser on Friday at 39A, Gwynne stated that the FSS is currently the right height for the crew access arm. However, the FSS will need to grow a little bit to support vertical integration necessary for some defense and national security payloads.

[Space Ghost 1962]

I believe there is to be a hammerhead crane as before with early Shuttle: