Today, it's GO Navigator's turn to perform a Dragon recovery sea trial. The ship is just offshore from Port Canaveral.
Been spending these last couple of weeks working on my next mini-documentary. @NASA helping out by sending me some attractive videos
https://twitter.com/spaceXcentric/status/1259570870655336455QuoteBeen spending these last couple of weeks working on my next mini-documentary. @NASA helping out by sending me some attractive videos
Simulator of Crew Dragon docking with @space_station → http://iss-sim.spacex.com
Crew Dragon missions will autonomously dock and undock with the space station, but crew can take manual control of the spacecraft if necessary
Crew Dragon Displays and Crew Spacesuits Ready for Mission to Space StationNASA and SpaceX have worked side-by-side, including through detailed simulations with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley who will first fly on Crew Dragon, to develop and assess the spacecraft’s control system and the spacesuit the crew will wear during the NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.SpaceX released a docking simulator Behnken and Hurley have used during training for the return of human spaceflight to the U.S. soil to the space station.Crew Dragon’s system includes touch screens and physical manual control options with robust fault tolerance built into the system. The touch screens have been tuned to operate with and without the SpaceX spacesuit gloves to high reliability. The control system has been thoroughly tested during the hundreds of hours of training and joint simulations with the crew in both suited and non-suited situations to demonstrate full functionality over the entire expected operating range of Crew Dragon. While the spacecraft will autonomously dock and undock with the space station, the crew onboard can take manual control if necessary.The spacesuit is custom-made for each passenger aboard Crew Dragon and is designed to be functional, lightweight, and to offer protection from potential depressurization. A single connection point on the suit’s thigh attaches life support systems, including air and power connections. The helmet is custom manufactured using 3D printing technology and includes integrated valves, mechanisms for visor retraction and locking, and microphones within the helmet’s structure. The custom-tailored suits include touchscreen compatible gloves, a flame-resistant outer layer and provides pressurization with a controlled environment for the crew in atypical situations, such as cabin depressurization. The suit also routes communications and cooling systems to the astronauts during flight.Author Anna HeineyPosted on May 12, 2020Categories Commercial Spaceflight, NASA, SpaceX
SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Members Enter Preflight QuarantineNASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley entered quarantine Wednesday, May 13, in preparation for their upcoming flight to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. They’ll lift off aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carried by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket two weeks later at 4:33 pm Eastern Wednesday, May 27, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people all over the world recently have experienced varying degrees of quarantine – a period of isolation from others to prevent the spread of contagious illness. However, for crews getting ready to launch, “flight crew health stabilization” is a routine part of the final weeks before liftoff for all missions to the space station.Behnken and Hurley will be the first American astronauts to fly to the station aboard an American spacecraft launched from American soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. The Demo-2 flight is an end-to-end test of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. They’ll meet up with the Expedition 63 crew already in residence aboard the orbiting laboratory: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.Spending the final two weeks before liftoff in quarantine helps ensure the Demo-2 crew arrives healthy, protecting themselves and their colleagues already on the station.Since Hurley and Behnken are training side by side and will be working and living as a team on the space station with their crewmates, they’re unable to maintain a six-foot distance. NASA’s quarantine rules are designed to protect astronaut crews while allowing them to continue working closely together, by limiting who can be in close proximity to them and ensuring they stay in environments in which their exposure to contagions or other hazardous materials can be tightly controlled in advance of their launch.If they are able to maintain quarantine conditions at home, crew members can choose to quarantine from there until they travel to Kennedy Space Center. If for some reason they aren’t able to maintain quarantine conditions at home – for instance, if a family member living with them isn’t able to maintain quarantine because of their job or school requirements – they have the option of living in the Astronaut Quarantine Facility at Johnson Space Center until they leave for Kennedy Space Center.Some additional safeguards have been added because of the coronavirus. For example, anyone who will come on site or interact with the crew during the quarantine period, as well as any VIPs, will be screened for temperature and symptoms. Hurley and Behnken, as well as those in direct, close contact with the crew will be tested twice for the virus as a precaution.Health stabilization procedures were introduced for the Apollo program, in which NASA astronauts left low-Earth orbit to journey to the Moon, and have continued through the shuttle and International Space Station programs.Behnken and Hurley will remain in quarantine after their arrival at Kennedy on May 20. Liftoff from Kennedy’s historic Launch Pad 39A is targeted for May 27 at 4:33 p.m. EDT.Author Anna HeineyPosted on May 13, 2020Categories Commercial Spaceflight, International Space Station, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, NASA Astronauts, SpaceX
NASA's Doug Loverro says SpaceX’s crew dragon capsule is mounted on Falcon 9 ahead of its maiden crewed flight on the 27th. On Boeing’s Starliner, he repeats the capsule will do its second uncrewed test later this year, "entering crewed service soon after that."
Here’s some @Tesla news that everyone should love. Check out the Model X that will carry @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug to the launchpad for the Demo-2 mission! #LaunchAmerica
The @SpaceX Crew Dragon awaits @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken for #LaunchAmerica on May 27. Take a tour of their vehicle with SpaceX's Benji Reed. 👀🚀
NASA commercial spaceflight director Phil McAlister is giving an update on the @Commercial_Crew program, including the upcoming test flights by SpaceX and Boeing.Thread:
McAlister: The flight readiness review (FRR) on May 21st "is a very big milestone," which will be the last time the program heads get together to see if NASA and SpaceX are ready to launch.
McAlister: SpaceX Demo-2 will follow a strict quarantine protocol for the astronauts."Direct interaction with the crew is not permitted without appropriate protective gear." There may be interaction with VIPs the day before launch but that will be through a glass wall.
McAlister on the May 27th launch date for Demo-2: "All the open work has a plan for closure. But that’s just a plan." Cites weather and "a number of things" that present a risk to a slip. "But at this point we have a shot."
McAlister: 13 days to launch. Doing well, but not done yet. Don't want to give false impression. Not waving a checkered flag. Lot of work to do in next weeks, months. Need to keep our eye on the ball and get the work done.
CLASS OF 2020In an effort to celebrate the class of 2020—from kindergarten to graduate school—SpaceX and NASA are inviting students from around the world to submit their photo to fly on America's first human spaceflight in nearly a decade.If you graduated or are scheduled to graduate in 2020, upload your photo to the mosaic of Earth below, which will be printed and flown aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft during its upcoming mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board.The deadline for all submissions is Wednesday, May 20. Submit your photo today to fly with the crew on Dragon and commemorate your achievements!
NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) is now having the second part of its quarterly meeting, including updates on the Commercial Crew Program.Thread:
Panel member Paul Hill: "The Commercial Crew Program is tracking a list of weekly work that must be closed" before Demo-2, although that is "no way unprecedented."
Hill: SpaceX has added a 3rd supporting landing site for Demo-2 "as a way to increase landing site availability and launch probability."
NASA's Kennedy Space CenterUnder NASA's Commercial Crew Program, astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will make history when they launch from Kennedy Space Center in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that's never before been flown by humans. Find out how their strong bond of friendship will give them an advantage in space on this episode of the Rocket Ranch.
