SpaceX F9 : Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test : Jan. 19, 2020 : Discussion

[CyndyC]

I find it curious that the "Dragon Specs" still noted the crew capacity as 7 people (?), thought it had be modified (at NASA's direction) to four due to constraints created by seat angle modifications...

They can probably change it back to 7 for their own commercial use.

[Herb Schaltegger]

I need to dig through the post archives and find those who claimed S2 would be a ballasted, unfueled dummy for IFA.

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1218927311271137281

[rpapo]

I find it curious that the "Dragon Specs" still noted the crew capacity as 7 people (?), thought it had be modified (at NASA's direction) to four due to constraints created by seat angle modifications...

They can probably change it back to 7 for their own commercial use.

Off topic, but I don't think they will do that, given where they are with Starship right now.  Dragon is so last year.

[CyndyC]

Logically one would assume that the aerodynamic forces would rip apart the larger part (stage 1) and that is what we saw blow up and fully intact, fully fueled second stage is what hit the water.

My money's on that.

I think someone said awhile back that the second stage would be unfueled

"Test like you fly". It was missing a proper MVac engine, carried a mass simulator instead.

Ok, that's what I was remembering then, a missing engine not missing fuel. Thx

[lrk]

Any official updates on the press conference?  Has it been rescheduled? 

[geza]

Logically one would assume that the aerodynamic forces would rip apart the larger part (stage 1) and that is what we saw blow up and fully intact, fully fueled second stage is what hit the water.

My money's on that.

I thought someone said awhile back that the second stage would be unfueled

I recall hearing fueling callouts on the net prior to launch which mentioned the second stage.  I believe it had propellant.

Also frosting visible on the SpaceX youtube stream. The stage was fueled.

My understanding is that the fueling process had to be exactly identical to the real one, as NASA want to see the modified process to work five times bebfore the crewed launch. Also, the mass of S2 had to be realistic. Only the engine was missing from the test S2.

[mrhuggy]

WOW, The abort was detected from GEOS-16 Weather Satellite.  The explosion showed up in it lightning detection imagery. You can see it here at Colorado's University SLIDER site. https://col.st/7VNAD

[winkhomewinkhome]

I need to dig through the post archives and find those who claimed S2 would be a ballasted, unfueled dummy for IFA.

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1218927311271137281

I think what we are seeing more accurately is the splashdown of the Second Stage.

[John Santos]

Logically one would assume that the aerodynamic forces would rip apart the larger part (stage 1) and that is what we saw blow up and fully intact, fully fueled second stage is what hit the water.

My money's on that.

I thought someone said awhile back that the second stage would be unfueled

I recall hearing fueling callouts on the net prior to launch which mentioned the second stage.  I believe it had propellant.

Also frosting visible on the SpaceX youtube stream. The stage was fueled.

This was discussed MANY times before the launch and during the launch coverage.  The 2nd stage was fully fueled.  It had a mass simulator (same mass and center of gravity as a real MVac) instead of an engine.  No legs or grid fins on the 1st stage.  The first stage was a normal F9 1st stage that had flown 3 times previously and, except the engine, the second stage was a normal F9 2nd stage.

[Stan-1967]

Max Q was called out about 20 second earlier and 5km lower than cargo flights.  Anyone know if this flight had a different trajectory & throttle settings?  Possibly just timing of reading of a script?

[mtakala24]

Max Q was called out about 20 second earlier and 5km lower than cargo flights.  Anyone know if this flight had a different trajectory & throttle settings?  Possibly just timing of reading of a script?

Crewed launch trajectories are typically more flat, i.e. not so high up first, in order to limit G-loads in re-entry if there is a high-velocity abort. This causes earlier max-q and more aero loads. I'm unsure if this is exactly 1:1 relation for SpaceX:s case here, or if anything special was done for this abort test specifically.

[hektor]

Did Elon say that they would like to catch the Dragon with a net? 

[whitelancer64]

Did Elon said that they would like to catch the Dragon with a net?

Yes he did.

[Rondaz]

SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After In-Flight Abort Test

Anna Heiney Posted on January 19, 2020

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down offshore in the Atlantic Ocean at 10:39 a.m. EST after a launch on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Teams of personnel from SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force 45th Operations Groups Detachment-3 out of Patrick Air Force Base will recover the spacecraft for return to SpaceX facilities in Florida, and a dedicated team will begin the recovery effort of the Falcon 9, which broke apart as planned.

Next up on NASA television and the agency’s website:

11:30 a.m. (no earlier than)  – Post-test news conference at Kennedy, with the following representatives:
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
Elon Musk, chief engineering, SpaceX
Kathy Lueders, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program
Victor Glover, astronaut, NASA Commercial Crew Program
Mike Hopkins, astronaut, NASA Commercial Crew Program

https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2020/01/19/spacex-crew-dragon-splashes-down-after-in-flight-abort-test/

[D_Dom]

Reporting the g forces surprisingly low during abort sequence.

[D_Dom]

Sequence of events from initial command to abort approximately 700 milliseconds from commanding first stage engine cutoff through superdracos at full thrust. Includes first stage separation, pressurization of abort system, all superdracos start. Distance traveled less than a mile. Forces measured inside the capsule three g.

[DecoLV]

Good presser, but very annoyed that after all this time, Elon still insists (with Bridenstine supporting!) that Apollo had no ascent abort capability after tower jettison. Even if S-II and S-IVB had full engine outs, the Service Module could still get the CM off the stack and recovery started. Go into Historical sub and lookup if you like. 

[rpapo]

Did Elon said that they would like to catch the Dragon with a net?

Yes he did.

Heard that too, though it begs the question: what is the weight of Dragon compared to a fairing half?  There's no question that Dragon is much denser, and therefore would be more of a point stress on the net.

[AS_501]

DecoLV is right.  If you listen to the Apollo 11 launch commentary, you hear "S-IVB-to-COI Capability", which I think means the Apollo SM can take the CM to orbit in the event of an S-IVB failure.

Question:  The Apollo CM had a manual abort handle in front of the commander's seat.  Do either Dragon or Starliner have a manual abort feature for the crew?  Or is this old tech, not needed today?  Thx

[Nomadd]

 So, did the 2nd stage blow in the air with the 1st staying intact until hitting the water?