SpaceX Falcon 9 / Dragon 2 : SpX-DM2 : May 30, 2020 : DISCUSSION

[rocketguy101]

I wonder with this being a NASA mission will we have access to the crew debriefs like those wonderful Apollo mission debriefs that provide tons of data and details all us geeks could go over and over....if they treat it as a SpaceX mission then we may not get any juicy details.  I understand IP, ITAR, etc. so any tidbits will be appreciated!

[SteveU]

I wonder with this being a NASA mission will we have access to the crew debriefs like those wonderful Apollo mission debriefs that provide tons of data and details all us geeks could go over and over....if they treat it as a SpaceX mission then we may not get any juicy details.  I understand IP, ITAR, etc. so any tidbits will be appreciated!

Agree - glad to see I’m not the only one who has crawled down that rabbit hole known as the ALSJ.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Scott Manley has picked out some interesting details and traditions associated with DM-2

All the big stories have been told, but there's a lot of equally interesting little stories about the mission, facts and observations, new technology and old traditions. So here's me talking about a bunch of hings you might have missed from the launch.

[jpo234]

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who flew the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station during SpaceX Demonstration Mission-2, are pictured briefing mission controllers about their experience in the new vehicle.

Genuinely puzzled: Why would they brief the mission controllers? I thought mission controllers are responsible for running the mission. Shouldn't they brief people who work on the certification process, in planning or in management?

[archipeppe68]

Exploiting the wide number of hi-rez images made available by NASA, I was able to dramatically improve my set of artworks dedicated to the Crew Dragon Endeavour, here there are:

[Tomness]

Exploiting the wide number of hi-rez images made available by NASA, I was able to dramatically improve my set of artworks dedicated to the Crew Dragon Endeavour, here there are:

Can you add the Zero-G pooper?

[archipeppe68]

Exploiting the wide number of hi-rez images made available by NASA, I was able to dramatically improve my set of artworks dedicated to the Crew Dragon Endeavour, here there are:

Can you add the Zero-G pooper?

Nobody knows where it is....

[Lars-J]

Exploiting the wide number of hi-rez images made available by NASA, I was able to dramatically improve my set of artworks dedicated to the Crew Dragon Endeavour, here there are:

Can you add the Zero-G pooper?

Nobody knows where it is....

It is located in the 'ceiling' between the front and top hatch. (behind a panel) But we don't know anything more than that, no details about how it looks or operates. But it is likely VERY basic...

See the attached images. If you look closer, there is even a small male|female toilet icon printed on the panel. 

EDIT #2: This is not confirmed, but seems very likely based on other hints.

[DigitalMan]

Exploiting the wide number of hi-rez images made available by NASA, I was able to dramatically improve my set of artworks dedicated to the Crew Dragon Endeavour, here there are:

Can you add the Zero-G pooper?

Nobody knows where it is....

It is located in the 'ceiling' between the front and top hatch. (behind a panel) But we don't know anything more than that, no details about how it looks or operates. But it is likely VERY basic...

See the attached images. If you look closer, there is even a small male|female toilet icon printed on the panel. 

EDIT #2: This is not confirmed, but seems very likely based on other hints.

I think in one of the interviews on ISS Bob or Doug said it operates similar to the shuttle toilet.

[Oersted]

I think in one of the interviews on ISS Bob or Doug said it operates similar to the shuttle toilet.

That sucks.


(sorry, couldn't help it...)

[archipeppe68]

It is located in the 'ceiling' between the front and top hatch. (behind a panel) But we don't know anything more than that, no details about how it looks or operates. But it is likely VERY basic...

See the attached images. If you look closer, there is even a small male|female toilet icon printed on the panel. 

EDIT #2: This is not confirmed, but seems very likely based on other hints.

I saw that images but, honestly, analyzing the internal geometry there's really little space left (in that point above the entry hatch) for a Shuttle-like toilet, whatever it could mean...
Probably it is enough room to host an infamous Soyuz-like toilet but nothing more than that.

[Lars-J]

It is located in the 'ceiling' between the front and top hatch. (behind a panel) But we don't know anything more than that, no details about how it looks or operates. But it is likely VERY basic...

See the attached images. If you look closer, there is even a small male|female toilet icon printed on the panel. 

EDIT #2: This is not confirmed, but seems very likely based on other hints.

I saw that images but, honestly, analyzing the internal geometry there's really little space left (in that point above the entry hatch) for a Shuttle-like toilet, whatever it could mean...
Probably it is enough room to host an infamous Soyuz-like toilet but nothing more than that.

If you are expecting a toilet seat, you are expecting too much. I'm sure all you'll find behind that panel is some suction tubes and hand holds. I think it is probably Shuttle-like in how the appendages operate, not in its size.

[yg1968]

Why were the solars panels for Dragon Endeavour only designed for 4 months? I imagine that the crew-1 panels will be designed for 6 months?

[Vettedrmr]

Why were the solars panels for Dragon Endeavour only designed for 4 months? I imagine that the crew-1 panels will be designed for 6 months?

I expect because DM-2 originally was only going to last a week or so.  The plan to extend DM-2 didn't occur until after OFT had its problems.

Have a good one,
Mike

[Zed_Noir]

Why were the solars panels for Dragon Endeavour only designed for 4 months? I imagine that the crew-1 panels will be designed for 6 months?

AIUI the solar array and the trunk on the Dragon Endeavour was only design for the original DM-2 mission length of a few weeks. However the capsule is the one originally intended for Crew-1, since the original DM-2 Dragon capsule was used for the inflight abort test.

[yg1968]

Thanks! But I am still wondering why not use the same design for all missions? It would have been better to test if the solar panels could have lasted 6 months (even if the mission was shorter than that).

[king1999]

Thanks! But I am still wondering why not use the same design for all missions? It would have been better to test if the solar panels could have lasted 6 months (even if the mission was shorter than that).

May be cost? It is thrown away every flight.

[ChrisWilson68]

Thanks! But I am still wondering why not use the same design for all missions? It would have been better to test if the solar panels could have lasted 6 months (even if the mission was shorter than that).

Maybe it was schedule.  They had an initial design that didn't end up meeting the full specs for 6-months.  So they came up with an improved design.  The improved design wouldn't be ready in time for DM1 or DM2.  So they decided to go ahead with the first design for DM1 and DM2 because it was good enough for them and introduce the better design after that.

Just a guess.

[the_other_Doug]

May have been both cost and schedule.  The first couple of flight Crew Dragon trunks, for DM-1 and -2, had a specific requirements list that said the solar cells needed to last a max of about a month at the outside.  So, they went out and bought solar cells that they knew would last at least a month, were readily available, and were cheaper than the upgraded cells that can last six months.  The requirements list for Crew-1 and beyond require the upgraded cells, which perhaps are longer lead-time items, so they were procured on a JIT basis for the later spacecraft.

Keep in mind I am making the assumptions that the upgraded solar cells are both more expensive, and take longer to procure.  Those assumptions make a lot of sense, but they're just WAGs on my part.  With those assumptions though, I think it may have been, as many things are, "a bit o' both"...

[Joffan]

I think - reading between the lines a little - that the solar panels on DM-2 are actually doing fine, and would likely power the Dragon adequately even for a six-month mission. However the *margins* that NASA wants couldn't be guaranteed, and even though they're "generating more power than... expected", which flash of honesty was quickly dialled back by NASA to stick to the extended mission time limit, they are still good for margins for a stay for all of August and probably all of September if it weren't the case that NASA wants' to get into Crew-1 rotation.