Posts Tagged Dragon

Sequestration Shovels Money to the Russians – Yahoo! News

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Government, Politics on February 27, 2013


 

Sequestration Shovels Money to the Russians

By Howard Bloom | Scientific American – 2 hrs 34 mins ago

A widespread opinion is that the sequestration–the blunt whack of $85 billion from the national government’s budget–was, as UPI puts it, “a dumb idea when it was created and it’s a dumb idea now.” But the sequestration may be far dumber than most realize. To save money, this budget bash is about to gush over three quarters of a billion dollars from America‘s space budget directly into the coffers of the Russians. Penny wise and billion dollar foolish.

How does this astonishingly self-defeating cash transfusion to Moscow work?

NASA has a little-known but crucial project called the Commercial Crew Program. In the days of the Space Shuttle it cost roughly $37,500 per pound to get an American astronaut into space. Let’s say that you are that astronaut. Adding in all the oxygen, food, water, and equipment it takes to keep you alive, that’s close to $82.5 million to get you into orbit. Which is the price of flying the entire population of Pittsburgh to LA and back with tickets fromcheapoair.com. But if America can get that cost down, it can make space as accessible as, well, airline trips from Pittsburgh to LA.

This is where the Commercial Crew Program comes in. In the Program, three private companies are competing to deliver US astronauts to the International Space Station. Those companies are Boeing, Sierra Nevada, and Space Exploration Technologies (better known as Space X). All are under contract to meet performance milestones on a timetable that would deliver US astronauts to the International Space Station by 2017 or sooner.

And so far, things look promising. SpaceX has already built the rockets it takes to get to orbit and has put them into regular commercial use. What’s more, SpaceX has designed a Dragon Capsule capable of putting seven humans into space, and has launched two of these capsules, orbited them, and brought them safely back to earth. But that’s not all. On launch number two, the Dragon Capsule carried a load of NASA cargo, docked with the International Space Station, uneventfully transferred its 1,200 pound load, took on 1,673 pounds of used hardware, supplies and more than a ton of scientific samples from the Station packed in a GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator) freezer, and brought that crucial payload to earth. SpaceX plans its third launch of the Dragon capsule with 1,268 pounds of crew supplies and scientific equipment for the International Space Station Friday, March 1st, the day the sequestration is scheduled to take effect.

Normally delivering cargo to orbit costs NASA roughly $10,000 per pound, a lot less than delivering people. But SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule and Falcon 9 can cost an estimated $2,500 per pound, a galumphing 75% savings. What’s more, SpaceX’s head, Elon Musk, has stated that his goal is ten dollars per pound. Yes, you read that right: ten dollars a pound to orbit. Which would bring the cost of putting you into orbit along with the oxygen, food, and water necessary to keep you alive down to $22,000. Not exactly the cost of an airline ticket from Pennsylvania to LA. But within the range of reality for a business traveler, researcher, space colonist, or asteroid miner.

What would sequestration do to this cost-reduction drive? And how do the Russians get into the act? There’s another government blunder that’s been hidden from you and me, hidden in plain sight: America’s space gap.

Ever since the retirement of the Shuttle in 2011, America has been unable to launch astronauts into orbit on American launch vehicles. Yes, there is currently no American craft, no matter how modest, that can put humans into space. At a time when even the Iranians are launching monkeys. Embarrassing, right?

As NASA administrator Charles Bolden told a NASA audience in Huntsville, Alabama, on February 22nd: “Budget sequestration will slow NASA’s effort to start a commercial space industry to take astronauts to the International Space Station on American spacecraft. The gap between America andRussia, which can still launch astronauts, will not close. The gap is going to get bigger. Anybody who thinks this is no big deal – it’s a big deal.”

Despite this space gap, the United States has obligations to the fifteen countries it seduced, kidnapped, and recruited into a $35-100 billion project, the vastly underutilized International Space Station. The International Space Station is an incredible achievement, a historically monumental construction on a par with the pyramids and the Parthenon. And to fulfill our obligations to our partners, we are committed to sending roughly 56 more astronauts to the station. Which leaves us with a problem. How do we send our men and women to space when we have no launch vehicle capable of carrying humans?

It’s simple. We rely on a nation some of whose media outlets, believe it or not, still portray us as the enemy: Russia. Yes, Pravda.ru, which has been described as “the largest news and analytical Internet-holding in Russia,” says week after week that the USA is a degenerate and murderous nation. With headlines like the current “Killing Russian Children Not a Tragedy for U.S.”

Only a few months ago, the Russians charged us $55.8 million a ticket to send a single astronaut to space and to bring her back on their Soyuz rockets. But since they have no competitors to drive down the price, the Russians have hiked the fare by 12% to $62.7 million dollars per ticket. And the price could go up farther.

Here’s where the ability of the sequestration to turn the saving of a penny into the loss of a billion comes in. Inside sources at NASA say that the sequestration will only cut $25 million to $30 million from the Commercial Crew contracts. By government standards, that sounds like a mere piffle. Right?

But through the magic of cumulative blunders, that tiny loss of money will turn into a torrent. It will delay the Commercial Crew Program for roughly two years. And every year we go without our own access to space, we are forced to pay another $350 million to $400 million to the Russians. In fact, on March 14, NASA reached an agreement to pay Russia $753 million for twelve round trip tickets to our station in the sky. That’s three quarters of a billion dollars. And if the U.S.’s period without American vehicles stretches out, that figure will increase. Think about it. $753 million or more siphoned from the American space program and used to underwrite Russian research and development and Russian leadership in space. When Russia’s Sputnik went up in 1957 and shocked the USA, the idea of underwriting Russian space development and crippling ours would have been unthinkable.

Nearly as bad, the Commercial Crew Program works by paying the three competing companies only when they meet milestones. Until then, these firms have to advance their own cash. They work “on the come.” If these companies have factored the government payment into their projections of cash flow and if they reach their milestones, the government’s refusal to pay up can bankrupt them. Or seriously set them back. This is NOT the way to encourage American ingenuity, American entrepreneurship, and American job creation. It makes the American government, the government that represents you and me, a bad business partner. A deadbeat.

Concludes Dave Dunlop, head of the International Committee for the National Space Society and a member of the group I run, The Space Development Steering Committee, “No wonder recent polls show that colonoscopies are more popular than Congress.” Or, as percussionist Ralph MacDonald once advised, “Don’t stop to pick up the pennies when the dollars are flying over your head.”

 Sequestration Shovels Money to the Russians – Yahoo! News.

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SpaceX Test Fires Advanced New Engine – SpaceRef

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on November 4, 2012


SpaceX Test Fires Advanced New Engine

By Marc Boucher

Posted February 1, 2012 11:59 AM

 

© SPACEX

SpaceX has successfully test fired SuperDraco

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has successfully test fired SuperDraco, a powerful new engine that will play a critical role in the company’s efforts to change the future of human spaceflight.

“SuperDraco engines represent the best of cutting edge technology,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer. “These engines will power a revolutionary launch escape system that will make Dragon the safest spacecraft in history and enable it to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.”

The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines currently used by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to maneuver on orbit and during reentry. As part of SpaceX’s state-of-the-art launch escape system, eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program awarded SpaceX $75 million in April of last year to begin work developing the escape system in order to prepare the Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts. Less than nine months later, SpaceX engineers have designed, built and tested the engine.

In a series of recent tests conducted at the company’s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas, the SuperDraco sustained full duration, full thrust firing as well as a series of deep throttling demonstrations.

SpaceX’s launch escape system has many advantages over past systems. It is inherently safer because it is not jettisoned like all other escape systems. This distinction provides astronauts with the unprecedented ability to escape from danger at any point during the launch, not just in the first few minutes. The eight SuperDracos provide redundancy, so that even if one engine fails an escape can still be carried out successfully.

SuperDracos can also be restarted multiple times if necessary and the engines will have the ability to deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power. In addition, as a part of a recoverable Dragon spacecraft, the engines can be used repeatedly, helping to advance SpaceX’s long-term goal of making spacecraft more like airplanes, which can be flown again and again with minimal maintenance between flights.

CAPTION: SuperDraco engines will provide the Dragon spacecraft with the capability to perform on target propulsive landings anywhere in the solar system. Credit: SpaceX

CAPTION: SuperDraco engines will power a revolutionary launch escape system that will make SpaceX’s Dragon the safest spacecraft in the world. Eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch. Credit: SpaceX

 SpaceX Test Fires Advanced New Engine – SpaceRef.

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AFP: Space capsule heads home from ISS

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Cool Stuff!, Space on October 28, 2012


Space capsule heads home from ISS

 

WASHINGTON — The unmanned Dragon space capsule set off from the International Space Station Sunday for the cargo-laden return trip to Earth after successfully delivering its first commercial payload, NASA said.

Using a robotic arm, an astronaut aboard the floating laboratory detached and released the capsule at 1329 GMT after an 18-day mission to resupply the space station, the first ever by a privately-owned company, SpaceX.

The next step will be to bring the capsule out of orbit by intermittently firing its onboard engines to slow its speed.

It is then supposed to parachute into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast at 1920 GMT.

The Dragon’s descent will be controlled by SpaceX from a center in Hawthorne, California, although NASA, which was in charge of the decoupling operation, will continue to provide communications.

The mission — the first of 12 planned trips in SpaceX’s $1.6 billion contract with NASA — is a milestone for American efforts to privatize the space industry, aimed at reducing costs and spreading them among a wider group than governments alone.

The capsule delivered about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of cargo to the space station and is taking home 1,670 pounds (758 kilograms) of supplies, hardware and scientific tests and results.

Owned by billionaire Paypal co-founder Elon Musk, SpaceX is one of several private firms working with the US space agency to send flights to and from the ISS, but SpaceX is the first to become operational.

The next SpaceX flight is scheduled for early January 2013.

NASA has been relying on Russian spacecraft for the last year, after retiring its fleet of shuttles — but the Soyuz craft does not have room for cargo on the return flight.

 AFP: Space capsule heads home from ISS.

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Congress and NASA reach deal on space taxis – Central Florida Political Pulse – Orlando Sentinel

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Aviation/Aerospace, Government, Space on June 6, 2012


Congress and NASA reach deal on space taxis 
posted by Mark Matthews on June, 5 2012

 

WASHINGTON — Top officials at NASA and in Congress have reached an accord on how the agency should proceed in developing “space taxis” to service the International Space Station.

At issue has been the number of companies NASA would pay in order to develop rockets and capsules that could ferry NASA astronauts to the floating observatory by the end of the decade.

NASA has pushed to pay four companies for the service, but the U.S. House balked at that idea earlier this year, saying that was too many, and passed legislation that would cap the number at two — with most of the money likely going to one provider. Last year, NASA doled out $269 million among four companies, including SpaceX.

In response to the House, NASA and the White House have pressed to keep their options open on the grounds that reducing the field would stifle competition.

Now it appears as if the two sides have come to a deal.

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, the Virginia Republican who heads the House appropriation subcommittee with NASA oversight, said today that the program would fully fund two companies — and could partially fund a third.

That’s down from as many as four companies, according to Wolf.

“This downselect will reduce taxpayer exposure by concentrating funds on those participants who are most likely to be chosen to eventually provide service to ISS,” he said in a statement.

The deal also would lay the groundwork for NASA to impose stiffer regulations on the companies competing to develop the rockets and capsules — a priority for Wolf — while giving NASA more leeway to nix contracts if it thinks aspiring companies are overselling their capability and financial health.

The accord comes at an interesting time for NASA and the commercial space business.

The agency plans to dole out the next round of awards for space taxis this summer; an effort that got a boost last week when SpaceX of California — working with NASA funds — made history when it became the first commercial company to berth a spacecraft to the station and return it safely.

 Congress and NASA reach deal on space taxis – Central Florida Political Pulse – Orlando Sentinel.

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Awesome Video of a Dragon’s Descent!

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on June 2, 2012


Awesome Video of a Dragon’s Descent!

by JASON MAJOR on JUNE 1, 2012

Just in from SpaceX and NASA, here’s a video of the descent of the Dragon capsule on the morning of May 31, 2012.

Dragon’s Apollo-esque drogue chutes deployed (NASA)

Taken from a chase plane, the footage shows the spacecraft’s dramatic chute deployment and splashdown into the Pacific at 8:42 a.m. PT, approximately 560 miles southwest off the coast of Los Angeles. The event marked the end of a successful and historic mission that heralds a new era of commercial spaceflight in the U.S.

Read more about the completion of the first Dragon mission here.


Awesome Video of a Dragon’s Descent!.

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A Banner Week for Commercial Spaceflight

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on June 2, 2012


A Banner Week for Commercial Spaceflight

by NANCY ATKINSON on JUNE 1, 2012

 

Dream Chaser on its first captive carry flight. Credit: SNC

While SpaceX stole the headlines with their Dragon spacecraft making the first private cargo run to the International Space Station, they weren’t the only commercial space company to make great strides for the future. “This has been an incredible couple of weeks for the companies in the commercial spaceflight industry,” said former astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who is now president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “Our members are working toward a common goal of opening spaceflight up to the public and expanding NASA’s reach, which will create high-tech jobs in the U.S. while building innovative technology that will improve life on Earth. The SpaceX achieved a historic first, and in just the ten days while they were in orbit, many other companies hit milestones or announced new initiatives.”

For example, on May 29 the Sierra Nevada Corporation completed a milestone for its Dream Chaser program with a captive carry flight test, marking the successful beginning of a flight test program that will continue this summer.

“The successful Captive Carry flight test of the Dream Chaser full scale flight vehicle marks the beginning of SNC’s flight test program; a program that culminates in crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA,” said former astronaut Steve Lindsey. Lindsey joined SNC in 2011 to run Dream Chaser’s flight operations, and his resume includes service as an Air Force test pilot, a five time Space Shuttle Commander and Pilot, and Chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office.

Captive carry testing provided SNC with an early opportunity to evaluate and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations in preparation for approach and landing tests scheduled for later this year. See a video of the test below:

XCOR Aerospace announced on May 24th that their liquid oxygen piston pump is now ready for reusable spaceflight. XCOR engineers have successfully and repeatedly pumped liquid oxygen at flow rates required to supply the Lynx suborbital vehicle’s main engines, completing a key technical milestone. XCOR is now ready for main propulsion integration into the Lynx flight weight fuselage.

Excalibur Almaz announced on May 27th that it plans to launch spacecraft to space stations they will place in orbit around the moon. Using proven Russian legacy hardware, Excalibur Almaz plans to create a transport system between Earth, low-Earth orbit, and the Moon. EA is now seeking partners, investors, and customers for this next generation space transportation system.

SpaceShipTwo durings its test flight on May 4, 2011. Credit: Clay Observator

Virgin Galactic announced on May 30th that its suborbital spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, along with its carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, have been granted an experimental launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration. This launch permit will allow the vehicle’s manufacturer, Scaled Composites, to continue forward with the flight test program towards rocket-powered test.

Moon Express announced on May 30th that it has acquired Next Giant Leap, LLC in the first team acquisition event of the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE. The NGL acquisition by Moon Express will leverage and carry forward the substantial work done by NGL and its corporate partners.

Blue Origin announced on May 31st the successful completion of a System Requirements Review of its orbital Space Vehicle on May 15-16 which will help Blue Origin finalize its vehicle design. The review assessed the Space Vehicle’s ability to meet safety and mission requirements, and evaluated the technical readiness of the design, the concept of operations, the feasibility of project development plans, and planned verification activities. The review also included results from recently completed wind tunnel tests of the biconic shape, validating the vehicle’s aerodynamic design, stability and cross-range.

A Banner Week for Commercial Spaceflight.

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Dragon’s Ocean Splashdown Caps Historic Opening of New Space Era

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on June 2, 2012


Dragon’s Ocean Splashdown Caps Historic Opening of New Space Era

by KEN KREMER on MAY 31, 2012

 

1st picture of the Dragon spacecraft as it floats in the ocean awaiting recovery ships
Dragon splashed down successfully on May 31, 2012 at 11:42 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of California. In a carefully timed sequence of events, dual drogue parachutes deploy at 45,000 feet to stabilize and slow the spacecraft. Full deployment of the drogues triggers the release of the main parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, at about 10,000 feet, with the drogues detaching from the spacecraft. Main parachutes further slow the spacecraft’s descent to approximately 16 to 18 feet per second. Credit: Michael Altenhofen

Concluding a perfectly executed and history making test flight, the first private spacecraft ever to visit and dock at the International Space Station (ISS) performed a picture perfect splashdown at 11:42 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT) today, May 31, in the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of Baja, California, some 560 miles southwest of Los Angeles to cap the opening to a historic new Era in Space Exploration.

Dragon is the linchpin in NASA’s bold Commercial Crew and Cargo program aimed at significantly driving down the cost of transporting cargo and crews to low Earth orbit by using private commercial companies to foster competition and innovation in the free market setting of the new, post-shuttle Era of Commercial Space Transportation.

NASA aircraft were able to transmit live video of the last few minutes of the Dragon’s breathtaking descent, unfurling of the trio of parachutes and ocean splashdown – pretty much on target at 27 degrees latitude and 127 degrees west longitude.

The official mission elapsed time on landing was 9 days, 7 hours and 58 minutes.

Splashdown of the Dragon cargo craft took place barely 6 hours after departing the orbiting lab complex following detachment from the station using the station robotic arm. The ISS astronauts released the craft from the grip of the station’s robot arm at 5:49 a.m. EST (949 GMT) this morning, May 31.

Screen shot of Dragon after May 31 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA TV

The two spacecraft were soaring some 250 miles (400 km) high above the Indian Ocean east of Africa at the moment of release and departure. Altogether, Dragon spent 5 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes mated to the station.

The gumdrop shaped Dragon capsule is 4.4 meters (14.4 ft) tall, and 3.66 m (12 ft) in diameter and has an internal pressurized volume of about 350 cubic feet .

The Dragon cargo resupply capsule was built by SpaceX and is being retrieved from the ocean by a flotilla of three recovery ships. The ships reached Dragon, detached the chutes and are in the process of recovery. It will take about two days to deliver the craft to the port of Los Angeles where the most critical cargo items will be removed for quick shipment to NASA. The capsule will then be shipped to SpaceX’s McGregor,Texas facility for post-flight evaluation.

Dragon is the world’s first commercial spacecraft whose purpose is to carry supplies to and from the ISS and partially replace the cargo capabilities previously performed by NASA’s now retired fleet of space shuttle orbiters. Dragon was designed, developed and built by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.

“This has been a fantastic day,” said Musk at a post splashdown briefing for reporters. “I want to thank NASA and the whole SpaceX team for an amazing job.”

“I’m really proud of everyone. This really couldn’t have gone better. We’re looking forward to doing lots more missions in the future and continuing to upgrade the technology and push the frontier of space transportation.”

“In baseball terminology this would be a grand slam. I am overwhelmed with joy.”

The de-orbit burn to drop Dragon out of orbit took place precisely on time at 10:51 a.m. EDT for a change in velocity of 100 m/sec about 246 miles above the Indian Ocean directly to the south of India as the craft was some 200 miles in front of the ISS.

Screen shot of Dragon after May 31 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA TV

The Draco thruster firing lasted 9 minutes and 50 seconds and sent Dragon plummeting through the Earth’s atmosphere where it had to survive extreme temperatures exceeding 3000 degrees F (1600 degrees C) before landing.

The Dragon capsule is the first US vehicle of any kind to arrive at the ISS since the July 2011 forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program resulted in the total loss of all US capability to send cargo and humans crews to the massive orbiting outpost.

SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2006 to conduct twelve Falcon 9/Dragon resupply missions to carry about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS at a cost of some $1.6 Billion over the next few years.

This was the third test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket and the first test flight of the Dragon in this vastly upgraded configuration with solar panels. A future variant of Dragon will eventually blast US astronauts to space and restore US crew capability – perhaps by 2017 thanks to repeated cuts to NASA’s budget.

Only four entities have ever sent a spacecraft to dock at the ISS – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Union. SpaceX is the first commercial entity to accomplish the same feat.

The precedent setting Dragon mission has opened a new era in spaceflight by giving birth to the first fully commercial mission to the orbiting space station complex and unlocking vast new possibilities for its utilization in science and exploration.

On May 22, Dragon thundered to orbit atop a SpaceX built Falcon 9 rocket during a pre-dawn liftoff at 3:44 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

After a three day chase, Dragon arrived at the ISS on May 25 and was deftly berthed at an open Earth-facing port on the Harmony Node 2 module after being dramatically captured by the astronaut crew using the station’s robotic arm in a landmark event in space history as the Dragon and the ISS were passing about 251 miles above Earth. Capture was confirmed at a mission elapsed time of 3 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes and 23 seconds.

Working in tandem, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers snared the Dragon craft as it was drifting in free space about 10 m (32 ft) away with the 18 m (58 ft) long Canadian robot arm at 9:56 a.m. EDT and parked the first privately built capsule to an open port at 12:02 p.m. EDT on May 25.

The astronauts opened the hatch and ‘Entered the Dragon’ for the first time a day later on May 26 and then proceeded to unload the stowed cargo and refill it for the return trip to Earth.

On this first NASA sponsored Dragon test flight to rendezvous and dock at the ISS, the cargo craft was packed with 460 kilograms (1014 lbs) of non-critical cargo including 306 kg (674 lbs) of food and crew provisions; 21 kg (46 lbs) of science experiment; 123 kg (271 lbs) prepositioned cargo bags to be used for future flights; and 10 kg (22 lbs) of assorted computer supplies and a laptop.

Dragon splashed down successfully on May 31, 2012 at 11:42 a.m. EDT in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of California. In a carefully timed sequence of events, dual drogue parachutes deployed at 45,000 feet to stabilize and slow the spacecraft. Full deployment of the drogues triggers the release of the main parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, at about 10,000 feet, with the drogues detaching from the spacecraft. Main parachutes further slow the spacecraft’s descent to approximately 16 to 18 feet per second.

Unlike the other Russian, European and Japanese cargo freighters that service the ISS and then disintegrate on reentry, the SpaceX Dragon is uniquely equipped with a state of the art PICA-X heat shield that allows it to plunge safely through the Earth’s atmosphere and survive the fiery temperatures exceeding more than 3000 degrees F (1600 degrees C).

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket clears the tower after liftoff at 3:44 a.m. on May 22, 2012 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on the first commercial mission to loft the Dragon cargo resupply vehicle to the International Space Station. The Dragon mission was a resounding success from launch to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on May 31 at 11:42 a.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/www.kenkremer.com

The down mass capability restores another critical capability lost with the forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters in July 2011. The astronauts filled Dragon with about 620 kilograms (1367 pounds) of science experiments, trash and non-critical items on this historic test flight.

The first operational Dragon resupply mission to the ISS could blast off as early as September, said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program.

“We’ll await the final post flight report to make the determination that this was an extremely successful mission. But they should be well on their way to starting [delivery] services,” said Lindenmoyer at the briefing. “Of course, officially we will look at the post flight data and make an official determination. But I would say at this point it looks like 100 percent success.”

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/95549/dragons-ocean-splashdown-caps-historic-opening-of-new-space-era/#ixzz1welhINoODragon’s Ocean Splashdown Caps Historic Opening of New Space Era.

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NASA astronauts open SpaceX capsule hatch and begin unloading cargo – latimes.com

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on May 26, 2012


NASA astronauts open SpaceX capsule hatch and begin unloading cargo

 

Dragon

A view of astronauts inside the Dragon spacecraft. (NASA / May 26, 2012)

 

ALSO

15 student experiments aboard SpaceX Dragon capsule 15 student experiments aboard SpaceX Dragon capsule

SpaceX capsule docks at International Space StationSpaceX capsule docks at International Space Station

SpaceX rocket launch hailed as 'a new era in space exploration'

SpaceX rocket launch hailed as ‘a new era in space exploration’

 

By W.J. Hennigan

May 26, 2012, 3:36 a.m.

 

Less than 24 hours after a historic docking, astronauts aboard the International Space Station clambered intoSpaceX‘s unmanned Dragon spacecraft and began unloading supplies that were packed inside.

Wearing oxygen masks as a precaution, the astronauts opened the hatch, slid the door open, and took delivery of the 1,014 pounds of food, water and clothing aboard Dragon.

“Like the smell of a brand new car,” said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, after going inside.

Live coverage of the hatch opening, which included some of the first video footage from inside the cone-shaped Dragon, started Saturday shortly before 3 a.m PDT on the Hawthorne company’s website and NASA TV.

Delivering cargo wasn’t SpaceX’s key mission — the space station is well-provisioned. The main purpose was to demonstrate that the Dragon space capsule could rendezvous with the $100-billion orbiting outpost and link up with the space station’s onboard computers.

Those goals were achieved when the Dragon docked with the space station at 9:02 a.m. PDT on Friday. It marked the first time a privately built and operated space capsule had done so.

Not only was it a milestone for SpaceX, it could also indicate a potential seismic shift for U.S. spaceflight, which for more than half a century has been the province of governments and large, entrenched aerospace firms.

SpaceX, offically named Space Exploration Technologies Corp., built its Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket that lifted it into orbit on its own. By contrast, the overall design of NASA’s previous spacecraft vehicles and their missions were tightly controlled by the government and contracted to aerospace giants.

SpaceX, with about 1,800 employees, has received nearly $400 million in seed money from NASA and has a $1.6-billion contract to haul cargo in 12 flights to the space station for the agency.

Now that the U.S. fleet of space shuttles has been retired, NASA’s plan is to outsource space station missions to privately funded companies. If NASA deems the current test mission successful, SpaceX will begin fulfilling the cargo-carrying contract later this year.

In the current mission, which began early Tuesday morning with a launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the Dragon is slated to stay at the space station until Thursday.

Once released from the space station, the craft should make its way back to Earth and deploy parachutes to slow its descent after entering the atmosphere.

It’s set to splash down Thursday in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles west of Southern California.

 NASA astronauts open SpaceX capsule hatch and begin unloading cargo – latimes.com.

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SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with international space station – The Washington Post

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on May 26, 2012


SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with international space station

By Brian Vastag, Published: May 25

With a near-flawless docking on Friday, start-up rocket company SpaceX achieved what only big governments have to date: It launched a mission to the international space station.

The moment marked a pivot point in U.S. space ambitions, away from total NASA control and toward creative private enterprise. While NASA furnished seed money and technical advice, SpaceX engineers designed, built, launched and drove the white gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule until the final moments.

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By succesfully docking its Dragon capsule to the international space station, SpaceX ushered in a new era in commercial orbital transportation. Dragon is the first private vehicle to visit the orbital outpost.

Click Here to View Full Graphic Story

By succesfully docking its Dragon capsule to the international space station, SpaceX ushered in a new era in commercial orbital transportation. Dragon is the first private vehicle to visit the orbital outpost.

Space station astronauts have captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, making history as the first commercial delivery truck in orbit.

Space station astronauts have captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, making history as the first commercial delivery truck in orbit

.

While the docking marked a milestone, it was more a policy win than a technical achievement: Shooting stuff into space has been routine for 50 years, and the Dragon carried no astronauts. That is a bigger mission that SpaceX and other U.S. companies are now racing toward.

“Launching cargo, difficult as it is, is much less difficult than launching humans,” said NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent five months on the space station in 2007. “SpaceX still has some challenges to get through.”

But the docking did help validate a space policy that’s drawn scorn and hope. Former and current astronauts, legislators and policymakers have questioned whether the private sector can launch a vehicle with brute force and then delicately pirouette it around a football-field-size orbiting outpost.

SpaceX controllers did both this week and made it look easy.

“It’s been a remarkable ride,” Michael Suffredini, NASA’s space station manager, said shortly after Dragon’s docking.

After a two-hour delay to fix a balky laser range finder on Dragon, two station astronauts — American Don Pettit and Dutchman Andre Kuipers — lassoed the capsule with a giant robotic arm at 9:56 a.m.

“Looks like we’ve got us a dragon by the tail,” Pettit quipped from 250 miles above Australia.

Cheers erupted in two mission control rooms — at NASA in Houston and SpaceX headquarters near Los Angeles.

Video feeds showed the casually dressed SpaceX team high-fiving and hugging. Elon Musk, the company’s usually voluble founder, later said he had no words for the “moment of elation.”

Two hours later, the station astronauts snuggled Dragon into a docking port.

Mission nearly complete.

“In my 20 years with NASA, rarely did things go that smoothly,” said Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former space station commander and president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry group. “And they never go that smoothly the very first time.”

He added, “I’m not sure I would’ve put money on it two weeks ago.”

He had reason to worry. Conceived in 2006 as a space shuttle replacement, NASA’s commercial spaceflight program is three years behind schedule. The SpaceX mission was repeatedly delayed since last year, most recently Saturday, when the Falcon 9 rocket’s engines fired and then squelched on the launchpad because of a bad valve.

But on Tuesday, the rocket finally soared atop an arc of orange. It was the second SpaceX mission for the Dragon capsule. In December 2010, a Dragon orbited the Earth and splashed down off the California coast.

On Friday, Musk sat in front of that first, scorched Dragon as SpaceX workers chanted his name, shouting, “We love Elon!”

For weeks, the Internet millionaire had been scaling back expectations, saying this was a test flight, a shake-down mission.

But at a post-docking news briefing, Musk beamed and repeated his ambition to fly people to Mars and beyond. “This was a crucial step,” he said, toward spreading humanity to other planets. “The chance of that just went up dramatically.”

While more circumspect, NASA and White House officials also heralded the day.

Presidential science adviser John P. Holdren, in a statement, called the moment “an achievement of historic scientific and technological significance” and “a key milepost in President Obama’s vision for America’s continued leadership in space.”

NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr., attending the International Space Development Conference in Washington, watched on a video screen and exclaimed, “We have berthed!”

Friday’s success edges SpaceX closer to sending astronauts back into orbit from American soil. After retiring its space shuttles last year, NASA now relies on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the station — at $63 million a seat. Last year, the agency funded four U.S. companies, including SpaceX, to build a space vehicle safe enough for humans.

But NASA and the Obama administration are battling Congress over funding. The administration wants $800 million for the commercial crew program next year, but the House of Representatives wants to cut that nearly in half. NASA’s Bolden has vehemently pushed back.

On Friday, Musk said that SpaceX could be ready to fly people into space by 2015.

But Scott Pace, a space policy expert at George Washington University and an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said the company first needs a track record. “They need to fly [cargo] six or seven times consecutively,” he said.

With nearly 2,000 employees, SpaceX is ramping up production to fulfill $4 billion in contracts, with NASA just one of their customers. The company is young — the average employee age is 30 — and Musk said he’s picked a team that balances “the wisdom of age with the vibrancy of youth.”

Their next mission — the first of 12 deliveries to the station — is slated for September.

Meanwhile, a local company, Orbital Sciences of Dulles, is preparing a new launchpad onWallops Island, Va., to send its new cargo carrier to the space station late this year.

The two companies are slated to make the bulk of cargo runs in the future to the station, which is now supplied by Russia, Japan and the European Union.

Along with food, water and computers, the Dragon carried a tiny cargo that began its journey in the District: two vials with a waste-purifying experiment designed by eighth-graders at ­Stuart-Hobson Middle School. Station astronauts will snap the vials like glow sticks, mingling bacillus bacteria with egg white.

Kyra Smith, the 14-year-old D.C. Public Schools student who conceived the experiment, said, “I’m interested in environmental conservation, so I thought astronauts that go up into the space station could reuse water and save space on their rockets.” If her experiment works, the bacteria will clear out the egg white — which is standing in for human waste. The experiment is one of 15 on the Dragon chosen from among 800 schools.

The program was started by the nonprofit National Center for Earth and Space Science Education in Capitol Heights to give students experience running experiments.

On Thursday, Dragon is scheduled to depart the station, carrying Smith’s vials along with frozen blood and urine from astronaut biology experiments and old spacesuit parts. If all goes well, it will splash down in the Pacific later that day.

 SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docks with international space station – The Washington Post.

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Robotic SpaceX Craft Docks With Space Station – Maggie Fox – NationalJournal.com

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Space on May 25, 2012


Robotic SpaceX Craft Docks With Space Station

By Maggie Fox

Updated: May 25, 2012 | 1:49 p.m. 
May 25, 2012 | 11:08 a.m.

AP PHOTO/NASA

This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon after it was grabbed by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the International Space Station on Friday. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.

The privately owned and operated SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station on Friday, a success for the Obama administration’s new strategy of using robotic missions and public-private partnerships in space.

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station helped guide the capsule in, but the craft itself was operated remotely from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

(PICTURES: Dragon Docks with Space Station)

“It looks like we’ve got us a Dragon by the tail,” NASA’s Don Pettit told SpaceX Mission Control, carrying on a long tradition of carefully scripted astronaut quips.

“For the first time, a private American company has successfully launched a spacecraft into orbit and berthed it with the International Space Station—an achievement of historic scientific and technological significance and a key milepost in President Obama’s vision for America’s continued leadership in space,”  John Holdren, President Obama’s science adviser, said in a blog post.

“That is exactly what the President had in mind when he laid out a fresh course for NASA to explore new scientific frontiers and take Americans ever deeper into our Solar System while relying on private-sector innovators—working in the competitive free market—to ferry astronauts and cargo to Low Earth Orbit and the International Space Station. It’s essential we maintain such competition and fully support this burgeoning and capable industry to get U.S. astronauts back on American launch vehicles as soon as possible.”

SpaceX, founded by PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, is one of several companies vying to replace government-funded NASA operations. The space-shuttle fleet retired after the final launch of a shuttle mission to the space station last July, and U.S. astronauts must now rely on Russian missions–at $60 million a pop–to get to and from the space station.

Other U.S. space missions are purely robotic, although SpaceX, among others, wants to win contracts to carry NASA astronauts on missions. The Dragon capsule will parachute back through the atmosphere at the end of its mission–a la NASA’s 1960s and 1970s missions–carrying trash, cargo, and finished science experiments.

The NASA-SpaceX partnership includes using NASA and Air Force facilities: The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the capsule launched on May 22 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, from a launchpad apart from the one used by the shuttles.

If NASA’s new approach works, astronauts may be riding to and from space in a capsule like the one on Dragon and similar to those used on Apollo and other missions. SpaceX, which has a $1.6 billion, 12-flight contract with NASA, is one of four companies contracted to come up with safe ways to get astronauts into space and home again. Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, Sierra Nevada, and Orbital Sciences Corp. are also vying for the job.

 Robotic SpaceX Craft Docks With Space Station – Maggie Fox – NationalJournal.com.

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