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

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Ho, hum.

https://twitter.com/cygnusx112/status/1264672478506467334

This map is through Wednesday for a possible tropical storm with the #SpaceCoast in the middle. If the launch slips Saturday is the next attempt. #SpaceX #LaunchAmerica #DM2 #NASASocial

[thirtyone]

It will be interesting to hear the crew's comments on Falcon 9's ride quality (shaking, vibrations, etc.).  Being a long and slender rocket like Saturn 5, will they experience a lot pitching and yawing up at the spacecraft end from first stage engine gimbaling?  Several Apollo/Saturn V crews noted that ("...like a ladybug riding the end of a whip antenna." someone said).  The Apollo 7 and Skylab crews complimented the Saturn IB first stage for its "smooth ride".  With a similar number of first stage engines, will Falcon 9 also produce low-level vibrations?  To any news media folks out there who may read this, please ask the crew about their ride into orbit in general.  Thanks.

In case you haven't seen it yet, Bob and Doug were already asked this a little while ago by a reporter. They have a sense of what it might be based on data collected from previous test flights. Hopefully someone will ask again after the ride. (apologies, can't find the timestamp yet - saw this a while ago)

EDIT: See ~28:00

[rdale]

We probably should keep this thread for official updates and use Discussion for non-official... But even then - models are not to be used for raw forecasts. If we're posting fantasy graphics, it's going to get ugly in a hurry since every model has a long-range tropical storm as some point.

But to give some context to the post - the model shows the potential system (if any) would be well north of KSC at launch time on Wednesday.

[zubenelgenubi: Moved OP and this reply to the discussion thread.]

[ulm_atms]

We probably should keep this thread for official updates and use Discussion for non-official... But even then - models are not to be used for raw forecasts. If we're posting fantasy graphics, it's going to get ugly in a hurry since every model has a long-range tropical storm as some point.

But to give some context to the post - the model shows the potential system (if any) would be well north of KSC at launch time on Wednesday.

True, but it's a storm up the east coast that has the best chance to cause a violation on abort scenarios.  They are basically launching up the east coast towards the storm on Thursday...IF the models are close enough...he next 48 hours will tell.  I have never trusted a tropical prediction more then 72 hours out from any model....ever.

I have a degree in meteorology...the amount of time the word "assume" was used in class was crazy.  There is a lot of math...but every model has certain assumptions...that's why they all differ.

[PahTo]

Sorry to interrupt this serious discussion of technical details to gush but...
Isn't this a gorgeous vehicle?
Just what we'd want in the early part of the 21st century.
Clean lines
Integrated LAS
Those conformal solar cells
Grid fins and landing legs
A clean lined, aesthetic access bridge
Even a lovely sunrise.

Wait a sec--Comga engaged in party thread-like material in this discussion?  What's next, the Update thread??

(I did note in other shots of 39A that the legs were deployed--good stuff!)

[Oersted]

What aircraft is this pic from?

https://twitter.com/astrokarenn/status/1264539030013857793

Arriving in Florida with a flyby of your dad’s spaceship on the launch pad... Priceless. #LaunchAmerica #CrewDragon

[Oersted]

Pack on the left thigh could be a survival kit in case of abort in a remote area.

"One forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings"?

Did anyone else read that in Slim Pickens' voice?

Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas Vegas with all that stuff.

They changed the audio after Kennedy's assassination, but you can still see Slim's lips saying "Dallas"...

[abaddon]

The astros have noted they expect it to be loud, based on DM-1.  Definitely will be interesting to hear what it was like.  Have either of them gone up on a Soyuz, or just Shuttle?

[kdhilliard]

What aircraft is this pic from?

Presumably from the NASA Gulfstream which brought Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken from Houston to the Cape.  They had been quarantining in Houston with their families, and in one interview Bob mentioned that he had enjoyed spending the time with his son (pictured -- former astronaut Karen Nyberg is Bob's wife), which he was only allowed to do because his son wasn't attending school (and thus breaking quarantine) because of the general lockdown.  In that same interview, they mentioned that the flight was a bit ahead of schedule, so they were able to circle the pad before landing.

They didn't mention who else was onboard, but it appears that some of the family came along for the flight, with the astronauts entering tighter quarantine shortly after arrival.

Update: See subsequent posts for corrected family information.

Also, I don't think that photo was from N992NA, Johnson Space Center’s Gulfstream GIII which brought Doug & Bob from Houston the the Cape on Wednesday (arriving the SLF at 15:52 EDT).  The trim in the photo doesn't match the interior of N992NA shown in this document. 

But while N992NA made only that one trip last week, N95NA, JSC’s Gulfstream GV, has been much busier, making trips from Houston to the Cape's SLF, on Tuesday (arriving 14:35 EDT), Wednesday (via Stennis, arriving 19:20 EDT), Friday (arriving 11:39 EDT), and Saturday (arriving 14:42 EDT).  I'd guess it was from Saturday's flight, since the short shadow to the east of the water tower suggests the photo was taken after local noon, which would have been 13:19 EDT, and the tweet came out Sunday morning.

Update 2: I just finished watching the crew arrival video, and at 28:33 Bob says, "We will have our families in town here in a few days and get a chance to spend time with them.  They've been observing a pretty tight quarantine to make that a possibility."

[Comga]

What aircraft is this pic from?

Presumably from the NASA Gulfstream which brought Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken from Houston to the Cape.  They had been quarantining in Houston with their families, and in one interview Bob mentioned that he had enjoyed spending the time with his son (pictured -- former astronaut Karen Nyberg is Bob's wife), which he was only allowed to do because his son wasn't attending school (and thus breaking quarantine) because of the general lockdown.  In that same interview, they mentioned that the flight was a bit ahead of schedule, so they were able to circle the pad before landing.

They didn't mention who else was onboard, but it appears that some of the family came along for the flight, with the astronauts entering tighter quarantine shortly after arrival.

Um... Nyberg is Doug Hurley’s wife and that must be their son.

[dglow]

Bob, Doug, and both of their spouses were part of the same astronaut class.

[Comga]

Bob, Doug, and both of their spouses were part of the same astronaut class.

Interesting
But unlike kdhilliard they never get confused about which one is married to which other. 

[AndyH]

Bob, Doug, and both of their spouses were part of the same astronaut class.

Interesting
But unlike kdhilliard they never get confused about which one is married to which other. 

As far as we know.   

[kdhilliard]

Um... Nyberg is Doug Hurley’s wife and that must be their son.

Oops, I knew better than that.  I got confused because I've heard Bob talk so much about his son lately.

Karen and Doug's son Jack should be about 10 year old.   Megan and Bob's son Theodore is 6 (perhaps just turning 7, from a remark Bob made to Bridenstine in the crew arrival video).  It does seems most likely that Karen tweeted a photo of her own son.

Note: I'm updating my previous post to note that the photo probably wasn't from the G III which delivered Doug and Bob on Wednesday, but from JSC's Gulfstream G V on Saturday.

[Prettz]

Just what we'd want in the early part of the 21st century.

Well, no.

I'm not knocking the Dragon, but sci-fi from the 80s is laughing at us for only being able to achieve a 7-person capsule in 2020.

[Coastal Ron]

Just what we'd want in the early part of the 21st century.

I'm not knocking the Dragon, but sci-fi from the 80s is laughing at us for only being able to achieve a 7-person capsule in 2020.

Well sci-fi from the 60's is laughing at us for not having cities on the Moon and Mars by now, so lets agree that we as a species are horrible at forecasting what the future looks like.

As for the present, I'm just happy that we'll finally (Finally!!) have redundant access to the ISS.

[lonestriker]

Just what we'd want in the early part of the 21st century.

Well, no.

I'm not knocking the Dragon, but sci-fi from the 80s is laughing at us for only being able to achieve a 7-person capsule in 2020.

But we would get credit for reusable spacecraft and boosters (*Shuttle and now F9 S1).

[Comga]

Just what we'd want in the early part of the 21st century.

I'm not knocking the Dragon, but sci-fi from the 80s is laughing at us for only being able to achieve a 7-person capsule in 2020.

Well sci-fi from the 60's is laughing at us for not having cities on the Moon and Mars by now, so lets agree that we as a species are horrible at forecasting what the future looks like.

As for the present, I'm just happy that we'll finally (Finally!!) have redundant access to the ISS.

And the 50’s were no more accurate.
“In the final decade of the 21st century, men in rockets landed on the moon. Within a decade they had reached the other planets. Shortly thereafter came the discovery of faster-than-light travel.”
Paraphrased from the open screen of Forbidden Planet (later imitated by Star Wars)
They were only off by a factor of ten in time for the first, who knows how much in the other direction for the others.

But outside of science fiction, in the real world devoid of hyperdrive, transporters, replicants and even Delos David Harriman, Dragon 2 is as clean and aesthetic and efficient and as capable as we could hope for right now.
If and when those SCI-fi things arrive, or Starship and Super Heavy fly and land, we can look back on Dragon 2 as a small stepping stone, but right now it looks huge.

[king1999]

I was surprised by the large number of people in close quarters with the crew. Including a reporter? doing interviews.

Are all these people living in NASA/SpaceX quarantine quarters for the past two weeks or more?

Don't think all of them living in the quarantine quarters. Yes it is a bit concerning to me considering how contagious the covid virus is. Does anybody know if they are going take some test kits with them just in case?

[DistantTemple]

I was surprised by the large number of people in close quarters with the crew. Including a reporter? doing interviews.

Are all these people living in NASA/SpaceX quarantine quarters for the past two weeks or more?

Don't think all of them living in the quarantine quarters. Yes it is a bit concerning to me considering how contagious the covid virus is. Does anybody know if they are going take some test kits with them just in case?

It looked like the smart black SpaceX overalls, were an almost all-over infection barrier.
In the Dragon they also wore a complete head covering.