Glorified, sealable plastic bags and germ wipes for number twos, tough plastic bottles with a one-way valve for urine. Then seal both in a tough, airtight aluminum or stainless steel box, I'd imagine.
From the SpaceX press release."Falcon Heavy is due to launch its first test flight this summer and, once successful, will be the most powerful vehicle to reach orbit after the Saturn V moon rocket."The people who write these need to do a bit more fact checking. The "most powerful vehicle to reach orbit after the Saturn V moon rocket" was Energia, with 35.1 MN of thrust. What Falcon Heavy will be is the fourth most powerful launch vehicle to reach orbit.Energia 35.10 MNSaturn V 33.85 MNSpace Shuttle 30.90 MNFalcon Heavy 24.68 MNAtlas V 551 12.27 MNGSLV Mk.III 11.66 MNAriane 5 11.40 MNCZ-5 10.64 MNH-IIB 9.98 MNProton-M 9.94 MNAngara A5 9.61 MNDelta IV Heavy 9.41 MN"At 5 million pounds of liftoff thrust, Falcon Heavy is two-thirds the thrust of Saturn V and more than double the thrust of the next largest launch vehicle currently flying."According to the SpaceX web site Falcon Heavy is 5.55 Mlbf (24.68 MN). That is just over double the thrust of the Atlas V 551 at liftoff. 5 Mlbf (22.24 MN) is not double the thrust.http://www.spacelaunchreport.com/atlas5.html
Any info on the orbital mechanics of this? It *appears* to be a lunar flyby as part of a deep space 400,000 mile apogee trajectory. What would that do regarding landing zones? I recall that with Apollo, landing latitude range was dictated by the angle of the moon's orbit relative to the equator, more specifically where on its orbit the moon was for TEI. Any similar issues with this mission? BTW, regarding the record books; would the crew not only be the humans to travel furthest from Earth, but also the humans due to returning from a 400,000 mile apogee? (I'm assuming that's going to be a slightly higher velocity than Apollo 13?)
With all the talk about NASA supposedly being p...ed about the circumlunar mission, that announcement certainly doesn't sound like that:https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-statement-about-spacex-private-moon-venture-announcementPerhaps we shouldnt forget that SLS is not necessarily something NASA wants to do - its something Congress makes them do. So I can imagine that this development might be welcomed at least by some within NASA...
Trump did not inherit his money. What are you talking about? Leave politics out of this. If the President can help push space forward using whatever motives he might have it is OK by me. This new announcement is something that would interest someone like that to be a part of.
Some astronauts seem enthusiastic about this.https://twitter.com/Astro_Mike/status/836346660880015360Mike Massimino@Astro_MikeOkay, the real space race is about to kick into high gear! Big announcement from @spacexhttps://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/836338112498401281Scott Kelly@StationCDRKellyIt's been almost a year. Send me!
I wish to issue a challenge/proposal to all Nasaspaceflight.com family members:For this mission - I would propose an Expedition by all willing and able NSF members to be together at KSC or nearby it for the launch of this Mission To The Moon. What do you guys think of that? I would dearly love to meet Chuck Longton, Chris Bergin, Steve Pietrobon, Space Ghost1962 etc - just for example - and indeed anyone else who thinks they could make it there.
Quote from: gospacex on 02/28/2017 01:29 amQuote from: LouScheffer on 02/28/2017 01:08 amWhat makes me glum is not rich people doing something interesting - it's that we need rich folks, volunteers, or both, to get this stuff done in the first place. Why should it be Rotary that's trying to get rid of polio? Why does it take Gates to attack malaria? Why do we need a few rich private customers to finance BEO technology? What is a government for, if not to do those projects that are both difficult and useful?Unfortunately, government is quite inefficient in everything it does.It only makes sense to use government programs for things which are useful *and currently unprofitable*. When done by government, such programs still run the risk of being done inefficiently (sometimes awfully so), but at least they would be done. Scientific probes to other planets and space telescopes are good examples.Can we keep the politics out of this and yes your statement is political.
Quote from: LouScheffer on 02/28/2017 01:08 amWhat makes me glum is not rich people doing something interesting - it's that we need rich folks, volunteers, or both, to get this stuff done in the first place. Why should it be Rotary that's trying to get rid of polio? Why does it take Gates to attack malaria? Why do we need a few rich private customers to finance BEO technology? What is a government for, if not to do those projects that are both difficult and useful?Unfortunately, government is quite inefficient in everything it does.It only makes sense to use government programs for things which are useful *and currently unprofitable*. When done by government, such programs still run the risk of being done inefficiently (sometimes awfully so), but at least they would be done. Scientific probes to other planets and space telescopes are good examples.
What makes me glum is not rich people doing something interesting - it's that we need rich folks, volunteers, or both, to get this stuff done in the first place. Why should it be Rotary that's trying to get rid of polio? Why does it take Gates to attack malaria? Why do we need a few rich private customers to finance BEO technology? What is a government for, if not to do those projects that are both difficult and useful?
Quote from: rakaydos on 02/28/2017 04:40 amI've seen some concerns about the capsule entry corridore being really narrow. I disagree.It was in the Apollo days, certiantly, when they had to ditch the service module before entry, and "skipping off" the atmosphere meant staying in space longer than the capsule was designed for without the extra air and scrubbers.But Dragon's Trunk has nothing. Power, perhaps, but a few extra batteries are easy enough to manage.The Superdracos can fire during entry to fine tune the course, and even without that, a mission can be planned to do a lighter aerobreak, do an orbit, and comit to a lighter entry without the hazards of a high speed entry.Superdracos can do everything BUT FINEtuning.
I've seen some concerns about the capsule entry corridore being really narrow. I disagree.It was in the Apollo days, certiantly, when they had to ditch the service module before entry, and "skipping off" the atmosphere meant staying in space longer than the capsule was designed for without the extra air and scrubbers.But Dragon's Trunk has nothing. Power, perhaps, but a few extra batteries are easy enough to manage.The Superdracos can fire during entry to fine tune the course, and even without that, a mission can be planned to do a lighter aerobreak, do an orbit, and comit to a lighter entry without the hazards of a high speed entry.
Quote from: Hauerg on 02/28/2017 05:26 amQuote from: rakaydos on 02/28/2017 04:40 amI've seen some concerns about the capsule entry corridore being really narrow. I disagree.It was in the Apollo days, certiantly, when they had to ditch the service module before entry, and "skipping off" the atmosphere meant staying in space longer than the capsule was designed for without the extra air and scrubbers.But Dragon's Trunk has nothing. Power, perhaps, but a few extra batteries are easy enough to manage.The Superdracos can fire during entry to fine tune the course, and even without that, a mission can be planned to do a lighter aerobreak, do an orbit, and comit to a lighter entry without the hazards of a high speed entry.Superdracos can do everything BUT FINEtuning.Which begs the question, how will mid-course corrections be managed? With Draco thrusters alone? Dragon 2 doesn't have the luxury of a SM fat on fuel to modify the trajectory. So many questions. Inertial guidance, ECLSS, entry corridor. I assume Dragon 2 will roll on entry, like Apollo, to control its path. Interesting to compare Dragon 2 capabilities in this regard vs. Apollo, Orion.
