SpaceX Falcon 9 / Dragon 2 : SpX-DM2 : May 27, 2020 : DISCUSSION

[00rs250]

Wonder if SpaceX will do a small modification to the Dragon with a bit of paint.

[cuddihy]

Random question, anyone know what TV stations (if any) are covering DM-2? Long story short, out on deployment (Navy) and our ship has your typical major TV news channels, but definitely will have no capability of a web stream.

TV-DTS can be tuned to the NASA channel, your COMMO / SUPPO just has to request it. Alternatively, request the strike group get it in a GBS channel. Good luck.

[Norm38]

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/1263089955317972994

Wx commit for launch is dependant not just on wx at launch site but in 50 pre-determined abort zones in the Atlantic stretch[ing] up US east coast, off Canadian Maritime Provinces, & across the ocean to just off the western coast of Ireland. #SpaceX #Demo2 #Flacon9 #CrewDragon #NASA

50 abort zones form Florida to Ireland?!?  I predict a lot of weather related scrubs.

[kevinof]

Irish coast guard (my neck of the woods) has two Sikorsky S-92's located on the west coast. Even with that I  would doubt they could reach that far out into the Atlantic.

there's an awful lot of ocean between Florida and here and a lot of different weather systems to get right.

[freddo411]

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/1263089955317972994

Wx commit for launch is dependant not just on wx at launch site but in 50 pre-determined abort zones in the Atlantic stretch[ing] up US east coast, off Canadian Maritime Provinces, & across the ocean to just off the western coast of Ireland. #SpaceX #Demo2 #Flacon9 #CrewDragon #NASA

50 abort zones form Florida to Ireland?!?  I predict a lot of weather related scrubs.

How does this compare to DOWN RANGE weather related launch constraints for:

* Shuttle  ( maybe less constrained because orbiter had more maneuvering ability)?
* Apollo ?

[Lars-J]

https://twitter.com/chrisg_nsf/status/1263089955317972994

Wx commit for launch is dependant not just on wx at launch site but in 50 pre-determined abort zones in the Atlantic stretch[ing] up US east coast, off Canadian Maritime Provinces, & across the ocean to just off the western coast of Ireland. #SpaceX #Demo2 #Flacon9 #CrewDragon #NASA

50 abort zones form Florida to Ireland?!?  I predict a lot of weather related scrubs.

Not all those abort zones will have the same criteria as the launch, though.

[jpo234]

Funny anecdote about the flag to be captured:
Before SpaceX can 'capture the flag,' an astronaut had to find it

[NX-0]

DM-1 vs DM-2
Other than the obvious (valves on the Super Dracos) what changes have been made for DM-2 (or even Crew-1) vs DM-1?

[lucspace]

Remember those awesome Philip Bono cutaway drawings of the Apollo spacecraft? When can we expect a similar image of Crew Dragon? Or are proprietary issues preventing that?

[DecoLV]

I was surprised at the aircraft the crew flew in on today, apparently as passengers. I expected to see a pair of piloted T-38s. Or at least one.

[Lars-J]

I was surprised at the aircraft the crew flew in on today, apparently as passengers. I expected to see a pair of piloted T-38s. Or at least one.

Why? Not all astronauts are pilot jocks, that ended a while back. And even if so, there isn't much overlap in T-38 flying skills and Dragon piloting.

[JMS]

Both Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are in fact "pilot jocks". And even though this is mostly automated, it's good to have their experience backgrounds in those seats.
 

[Lars-J]

Both Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are "pilot jocks".

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

[JMS]

Both Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are "pilot jocks".

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

How could their experience in the cockpit NOT be a benefit?

[Robotbeat]

Both Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are "pilot jocks".

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

How could their experience in the cockpit NOT be a benefit?

No air in space. Docking is a very slow, deliberate procedure with different dynamics. And as far as arriving in T-38s... flying around needlessly in fighter jets just for a nice photo op is an unnecessary risk and expense.

[mark_m]

I was surprised at the aircraft the crew flew in on today, apparently as passengers. I expected to see a pair of piloted T-38s. Or at least one.

I agree that it does not have any relevance to the current mission, but I must say, as someone who definitely does not know all of the details of the shuttle-era flights, I was mildly surprised as well. The image in my mind was of astronauts arriving in Florida from Houston in T-38s.

[CraigLieb]

I was surprised at the aircraft the crew flew in on today, apparently as passengers. I expected to see a pair of piloted T-38s. Or at least one.

I agree that it does not have any relevance to the current mission, but I must say, as someone who definitely does not know all of the details of the shuttle-era flights, I was mildly surprised as well. The image in my mind was of astronauts arriving in Florida from Houston in T-38s.

Likely ended when this happened

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_NASA_T-38_crash

A side note, I worked, many years later, in the exact building that was hit by this aircraft in the accident.

[kdhilliard]

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

Yes, both Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have piloted the T-38.  In this Atlantic profile of them from last September they mention their flying.
Are they still current?  I don't know.  Do we know if post-shuttle NASA astronaut pilots still train and stay current on the T-38, and astronaut non-pilots still pull back seat time?  NASA has historically considered the cockpit time a useful discipline.
Is it reasonable that DecoLV thought the DM-2 crew might arrive via T-38?  Sure. It was tradition for the Shuttle crews to do so.  Here is the STS-135 crew arriving.
Perhaps this is a change for the post-Shuttle era, or perhaps it was due to COVID-19 concerns as it was deemed easier to travel as passengers in a nearly empty Gulfstream than to try to avoid contact with ground crew as pilots of T-38s.  Someone should ask them.
Edit: Not to leave out Bob, here is a photo of the STS-130 crew arriving at the Cape.

[Jorge]

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

Do we know if post-shuttle NASA astronaut pilots still train and stay current on the T-38, and astronaut non-pilots still pull back seat time?  NASA has historically considered the cockpit time a useful discipline.

Not just a useful discipline, but a useful predictor of performance in stressful situations. I.e. a non-pilot who freaks out in the backseat of a T-38 is considered likely to do the same in a spacecraft and is unlikely to get a flight assignment. You just don't get the same level of stress in a simulator.

Mind you, my first hand knowledge of this ended with shuttle. But based on the daily T-38 traffic I see in and out of EFD, I doubt it's changed much.

[Coastal Ron]

Do they fly T-38's everyone? No. Would it benefit them on this mission? No.

Do we know if post-shuttle NASA astronaut pilots still train and stay current on the T-38, and astronaut non-pilots still pull back seat time?  NASA has historically considered the cockpit time a useful discipline.

Not just a useful discipline, but a useful predictor of performance in stressful situations.

Back in the day where astronauts had to fly an unpowered glider back from space, sure, being a good pilot made sense. I don't think the same skillset translates to this current generation of capsules.

However if you want to stress test an astronaut candidate in a relevant environment, just stick them deep in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory pool and then turn off their air supply...