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

[ValmirGP]

It's natural the capsule is there during the static fire... On launch day more precious cargo will be there during the fueling and launch. If it goes kaboom on the static fire, it will be of little consequence the loss of the capsule, much bigger fish will have to be fried.

[Yazata]

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

I believe that each of them is a graduate of their respective military test pilot school. Behnken the USAF TPS at Edwards AFB, and Hurley the Naval TPS at Patuxent MD. Each has several thousand hours in multiple aircraft types. Behnken worked on the F22 Raptor program and Hurley was the first Marine to pilot an F18 E/F Super Hornet.

And both are married to fellow astronauts. Behnken's wife is K. Megan McArthur. She doesn't appear to be a pilot. Instead she's a UCSD PhD in Oceanography who has done Johnnie Hinbos imitations diving in the giant kelp forest tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She flew on the Shuttle on STS 125 where she worked the robotic arm and is the last astronaut to "touch" the Hubble Space Telescope. She's served as Capcom on several missions and I wonder if they would let her do it on this one, if her husband is the one she's communicating with up there.

Hurley's wife is Karen Nyberg, who doesn't appear to be a pilot either. She's an engineer with a PhD from the U of Texas (for work on thermoregulation in space suits). She flew on the Shuttle on STS 124 and again on a Soyuz for ISS Expeditions 36/37. She retired from NASA just a few months ago.

So apparently the steely-eyed daring-aviator astronaut image that was so prevalent in the Mercury days has waned a bit as NASA has thrown its net more widely. They seem to be recruiting PhDs as well as test pilots. Perhaps that change was associated with their seeking more female astronauts. Though Ann McClain is an Army helicopter pilot with combat experience in Iraq and is a test pilot graduate.

You know, it's kind of amazing to think that the Mercury astronauts were almost as close in time to the Wright Brothers as we are to them today. In the 1960's the wild and crazy barnstorming era of 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' in which aviation was still an adventure was still a living memory. I think that the 1960's saw spaceflight as the natural extension of that... Magnificent Men in their Space Machines. (Elon Musk still feels the attraction, down to raw engineering out in a South Texas field.)

So maybe the T-38s were/are as much a cultural thing as anything else.   

[Chris Bergin]

https://twitter.com/KSpaceAcademy/status/1263557484087779333

[Robotbeat]

Was the DM-1 flight the first time solar panels have launched affixed on the exterior of a vehicle (as opposed to inside the fairing or other cover)?

I can't think of any.

I was curious about this as well. In general the use of conformal solar panels (as opposed to large deployed panels) seems rather rare.

Conformal solar panels are very common (or it used to be) on satellites.

But not commonly exposed on launch with no fairing.

[whitelancer64]

So, What Does It Take To #BeAnAstronaut?

Astronaut requirements have changed with NASA's goals and missions. Today, to be considered for an astronaut position, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

1. Be a U.S. citizen
2. Possess a master's degree in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, from an accredited institution.
3. Have at least two years of related professional experience obtained after degree completion or at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.
4. Be able to pass the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html

[Seattleite]

Two words: celebratory vomiting!

[abaddon]

Flight Readiness Review will NOT conclude today. It will reconvene Friday morning for TBD duration culminating in a press conference on NASA TV

Is that a change in plans (thought it was supposed to conclude today)?  Any precedent to it from Shuttle days?

[salpun]

Waiting for the static fire?

[Alexphysics]

Flight Readiness Review will NOT conclude today. It will reconvene Friday morning for TBD duration culminating in a press conference on NASA TV

Is that a change in plans (thought it was supposed to conclude today)?  Any precedent to it from Shuttle days?

If you read one of the press releases about the Flight Readiness Review it says at the end that they have extra alloted time for tomorrow in case they don't have time to finish the FRR today. Not weird or rare. Just too many things to review in a day and many of the people are doing this review from a distance.

[Elthiryel]

According to one of the previous tweets by Chris G., this isn't exactly unexpected.

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1263453487310016513

It is not uncommon, and NASA has already warned, that the Flight Readiness Review could push into Friday. This is not an indication that anything is wrong as long conversations are expected for first-time flights. #SpaceX #NASA #Demo2

[lykos]

It's natural the capsule is there during the static fire... On launch day more precious cargo will be there during the fueling and launch. If it goes kaboom on the static fire, it will be of little consequence the loss of the capsule, much bigger fish will have to be fried.

The capsule is only the fairing for the astronauts !
O.k. a little more complicated and a little more expensive , but on general   *just a fairing*

[haywoodfloyd]

So, What Does It Take To #BeAnAstronaut?

Astronaut requirements have changed with NASA's goals and missions. Today, to be considered for an astronaut position, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

1. Be a U.S. citizen
2. Possess a master's degree in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, from an accredited institution.
3. Have at least two years of related professional experience obtained after degree completion or at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.
4. Be able to pass the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/F_Astronaut_Requirements.html

Of course you are referring to an American astronaut.

[Skylon]

As I recollect it the shuttle crew would fly from Houston to Kennedy on T-38s and the Gulfstream would fly in with a load of passengers as well. I think these passengers comprised the Medical Team and support staff.

Carl

Sometimes the whole flight crew would arrive via Gulfstream. STS-131 was the last instance I recall this occurring. Typically the T-38's were used, but the Gulfstream was used for the entire flight crew I believe if there wasn't a great weather forecast at the time of the flight from Texas to Florida. 

[JAFO]

IIRC, the T-38s were acquired not only for proficiency flying, but because it saved so much time vs traveling via commercial airline to all the various stations. In the Apollo days, they may have helped the LMP/CDRs stay proficient, and the Bell 47 and LLRV/LLTV were, of course, more accurate for lunar landing practice, but the T-38s were more day-day practical. I find that even flying a bugsmasher once in a while helps me at work.
Just being a pilot, even a jet pilot, is not enough to insure a person will stay calm in an emergency. You can drill, drill, drill all you want in a sim, but buried deep inside the various airline's databases are mishap reports of pilots freaking out during an emergency and making bad decisions, sometimes resulting in making a minor situation really bad and crashing a perfectly good aircraft. However, having training from a recognized Test Pilot school and experience in a flight test environment helps to ensure a quality person in the pointy end of the vehicle.

[cwr]

IIRC, the T-38s were acquired not only for proficiency flying, but because it saved so much time vs traveling via commercial airline to all the various stations. In the Apollo days, they may have helped the LMP/CDRs stay proficient, and the Bell 47 and LLRV/LLTV were, of course, more accurate for lunar landing practice, but the T-38s were more day-day practical. I find that even flying a bugsmasher once in a while helps me at work.
Just being a pilot, even a jet pilot, is not enough to insure a person will stay calm in an emergency, not all pilots are created equal. You can drill, drill, drill all you want in a sim, but buried deep inside the various airline's databases are mishap reports of pilots freaking out during an emergency and making bad decisions, sometimes resulting in making a minor situation really bad and crashing a perfectly good aircraft. However, having training from a recognized Test Pilot school and experience in a flight test environment helps to ensure a quality person in the pointy end of the vehicle.

The T-38's were acquired after Mercury and IIRC during Gemini development with the justification
that they facilitated trips to McDonnell in St Louis. However, the only justification that I remember
during Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle was the need for pilots to maintain their flight qualification.

Carl

[Ethanz913]

Does anyone know the initial orbit Dragon is in after SECO?

[NX-0]

Does anyone know the initial orbit Dragon is in after SECO?

I believe L2 does

[Ethanz913]

I looked. I couldn’t find it
Edit: Found it

[Alexphysics]

Does anyone know the initial orbit Dragon is in after SECO?

190x205km

It's on Chris G's article (so no L2 content anymore)

[MostlyHarmless]

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.

Not sure if you can get Discovery or Science channels, but they are providing a good bit of coverage before and during launch.

https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/discovery-and-science-channel-secure-access-to-capture-nasa-launch-of-spacexs-crew-dragon-capsule-first-crewed-orbital-space-mission-in-the-u-s-in-nearly-9-years/