Canceled: SpaceX F9 : Space Adventures private Dragon flight

[FutureSpaceTourist]

This flight has been canceled.

https://twitter.com/spaceadventures/status/1229768605115600896

Space Adventures announces agreement with @SpaceX to launch private citizens on Dragon spacecraft spaceadventures.com/space-adventur…

Space Adventures Announces Agreement with SpaceX to Launch Private Citizens on the Crew Dragon Spacecraft

Mission profile provides opportunity to break a world record

February 18, 2020 — Building on the success of Crew Dragon’s first demonstration mission to the International Space Station in March 2019 and the recent successful test of the spacecraft’s launch escape system, Space Adventures, Inc. has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to fly private citizens on the first Crew Dragon free-flyer mission. This will provide up to four individuals with the opportunity to break the world altitude record for private citizen spaceflight and see planet Earth the way no one has since the Gemini program.

If interested parties are secured, this mission will be the first orbital space tourism experience provided entirely with American technology. Private citizens will fly aboard SpaceX’s fully autonomous Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, the same spacecraft and launch vehicle that SpaceX will use to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

“This historic mission will forge a path to making spaceflight possible for all people who dream of it, and we are pleased to work with the Space Adventures’ team on the mission,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer, SpaceX.

“Creating unique and previously impossible opportunities for private citizens to experience space is why Space Adventures exists. From 2001-2009 our clients made history by flying over 36 million miles in space on eight separate missions to the ISS. Since its maiden mission in 2010, no engineering achievement has consistently impressed the industry more than the Dragon/Falcon 9 reusable system. Honoring our combined histories, this Dragon mission will be a special experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity – capable of reaching twice the altitude of any prior civilian astronaut mission or space station visitor,” said Eric Anderson, Chairman, Space Adventures.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Target date late 2021 to mid 2022. Up to 5 days flight duration. A few weeks training.

[quasarquantum]

Up to five days with three others in a Dragon... not sure i would prefer that to a short visit to the ISS. Altitude record or not

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1229787820040052737

Although the financial terms of the deal between SpaceX and Space Adventures were not disclosed, it's worth remembering that Bigelow Aerospace had a deal with SpaceX last year to fly customers to the space station for ~$52 million per person.

[Tomness]

Up to five days with three others in a Dragon... not sure i would prefer that to a short visit to the ISS. Altitude record or not

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1229787820040052737

Although the financial terms of the deal between SpaceX and Space Adventures were not disclosed, it's worth remembering that Bigelow Aerospace had a deal with SpaceX last year to fly customers to the space station for ~$52 million per person.

BIGELOW BEAM & Crew Dragon Team Up?

[whitelancer64]

Up to five days with three others in a Dragon... not sure i would prefer that to a short visit to the ISS. Altitude record or not

*snip tweet*

Although the financial terms of the deal between SpaceX and Space Adventures were not disclosed, it's worth remembering that Bigelow Aerospace had a deal with SpaceX last year to fly customers to the space station for ~$52 million per person.

BIGELOW BEAM & Crew Dragon Team Up?

There's no way a BEAM and a Crew Dragon could dock, so no.

[Prettz]

Target date late 2021 to mid 2022. Up to 5 days flight duration. A few weeks training.

So with that as the hoped-for target date, what's a more realistic date for this?

Up to five days with three others in a Dragon... not sure i would prefer that to a short visit to the ISS. Altitude record or not

Honestly, I would think you'd be so excited to be weightless and in space you wouldn't care. Dragon has a decent toilet facility, right?

[Kansan52]

The BEAM is berthed to the ISS so it's berthing port could not dock the the Crew Dragon. Of course, this would be a new build BEAM so that could be changed.

The problem (to me) is that it took longer than five days for BEAM to expand at the Station (if memory serves). You would make the mission much more difficult  (read dangerous) and the BEAM might not be usable for most of the mission. Best stow the seats for the flight.

[Confusador]

Target date late 2021 to mid 2022. Up to 5 days flight duration. A few weeks training.

So with that as the hoped-for target date, what's a more realistic date for this?

Given that there's no hardware development required, they could tell me they're planning to launch later this year and I'd believe it.

On the other hand, since the number of passengers isn't set they may have booked this without having anyone lined up.  If they don't get enough customers this may end up the same way as lunar Dragon.  Especially if Starship ends up being cheaper (likely) and available for crewed flights in the next few years (possible, but less likely).

[jadebenn]

"If interested parties are secured," huh? Welp. I'm not holding my breath.

Hope I'm proven wrong!

[Phil Stooke]

"There's no way a BEAM and a Crew Dragon could dock, so no. "

Dock elsewhere and transit to BEAM?  Lots of ways to do things...

[HeartofGold2030]

"If interested parties are secured," huh? Welp. I'm not holding my breath.

Hope I'm proven wrong!

Considering how many of Space Adventures’ more recent endeavours have ended up, your wise to breathe freely...

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Yes, I too think the target date will in practice be driven by demand, not supply.

Having said that, I suspect NET late 2021 is when SpaceX are comfortable they'll have have a gap in their manifest and an available (flight proven?) Dragon. Several days is not a typical mission and lots of Starlink flights to go first to get to a viable network ASAP.

This mission is a nice stepping stone though for SpaceX, between ISS crewed Dragon ops and the circumlunar Starship flight.

I think price will be the big issue for what the demand is. A few days in a capsule is rather different from a week or more on the ISS. Not sure the higher altitude of this Dragon flight will be a big draw, although the drastically reduced training time (weeks not months) may bring in a number of people who baulk at the time needed to prepare to visit the ISS.

Will be very interesting to see how this pans out.

[abaddon]

Target date late 2021 to mid 2022. Up to 5 days flight duration. A few weeks training.

So with that as the hoped-for target date, what's a more realistic date for this?

Given that there's no hardware development required, they could tell me they're planning to launch later this year and I'd believe it.

On the other hand, since the number of passengers isn't set they may have booked this without having anyone lined up.  If they don't get enough customers this may end up the same way as lunar Dragon.  Especially if Starship ends up being cheaper (likely) and available for crewed flights in the next few years (possible, but less likely).

Lunar Dragon had customers, it just got moved to Starship.  The big distinction there being Lunar Dragon required further development effort (a lot) where this service does not.  A better comp might be Dragonlab, which used an existing capability, but never materialized due to customer disinterest.

Spaceflight Adventures has a track record and has actually booked and flown tourists (seven of them!), although none more recently than 2009.  Worth noting that the retirement of the Space Shuttle put a premium on Soyuz seats and it is possible this depressed the market.  Those were ISS flights, and this is not, but this should also be reasonably cheaper.  So hard to know how that combination affects things.

This seems significant, but there is clearly work still to be done by both parties before anything can happen.

[Comga]

What I find very interesting is the other "record" that would be broken.

Fly further from Earth than anyone in the last 50 years".

That would be a world altitude record for a grammatical error in the 21st century.  It should be "farther".

But seriously....
The highest the Shuttle went was 620 km when servicing Hubble.
So the flight is planned to over 620 km.
An interesting choice for a flight under one week.

This would probably land in the ocean, like Dragon 2 missions to the ISS will have by then.
But could they land in the desert, using SuperDracos and coming to rest directly on the heat shield?

[ugordan]

The highest the Shuttle went was 620 km when servicing Hubble.
So the flight is planned to over 620 km.

The statement was 2x ISS altitude, no? So that would mean around 800 km top altitude. I'm thinking an elliptical insertion with that kind of apogee, not a circular orbit at 800 km.

[rpapo]

The highest the Shuttle went was 620 km when servicing Hubble.
So the flight is planned to over 620 km.

The statement was 2x ISS altitude, no? So that would mean around 800 km top altitude. I'm thinking an elliptical insertion with that kind of apogee, not a circular orbit at 800 km.

They could do what's already been done with several manned and unmanned flights (Apollo, Gemini): launch into an elliptical orbit like a GTO (though not quite so high).  That would almost definitely set a record.  The danger would be the radiation belts.  And it would give the heat shield quite a beating on the way back.

[Tomness]

The BEAM is berthed to the ISS so it's berthing port could not dock the the Crew Dragon. Of course, this would be a new build BEAM so that could be changed.

The problem (to me) is that it took longer than five days for BEAM to expand at the Station (if memory serves). You would make the mission much more difficult  (read dangerous) and the BEAM might not be usable for most of the mission. Best stow the seats for the flight.

NASA made Bigelo inflate it the long way,  it had canisters in it to inflate it's self. Nasa told then not to because they sat for to long waiting on the mission.

FLY BEAM on top of Dragon. It's free-flyer so you can do what ever.  Discard before landing.

[Norm38]

I'd stay out of the belts, but an elliptical orbit would be cool for tourists.  Get to see the Earth get smaller, get that full Blue Marble view, then come back in close, lower than ISS for the "I can see my house!" closeups.

[Comga]

The highest the Shuttle went was 620 km when servicing Hubble.
So the flight is planned to over 620 km.

The statement was 2x ISS altitude, no? So that would mean around 800 km top altitude. I'm thinking an elliptical insertion with that kind of apogee, not a circular orbit at 800 km.

Anderson said

… capable of reaching twice the altitude of any prior civilian astronaut mission or space station visitor,

. 
"capable of reaching", not "going to"
So we have an upper and lower bound.
One of our analysts can use real numbers and equations to tell us what the limits are on circular and elliptical orbits for Dragon 2 on Falcon 9 assuming RTLS or ASDS.